I'll Save You
by RockQueen98
Summary: When Dean Ambrose comes across a sixteen-year-old boy named Seth Rollins one night, beaten and abused, he knew that he would do whatever it takes to save him from the past and make him see that he belongs in this world. AU, M/M, Warnings inside.
1. Escape

**A/N: **Those who read Hostage will know that I have been thinking about another Wrestling AU fanfiction for a while.I started it last week, and here it is!

**Warnings: This story has mentions of verbal, physical and sexual abuse through the story. Self harm and suicidal tendencies will also be included. The rating _will _rise to M when it will need to be. I will not be mentioning these again, as I've listed them here. Please do not forget that these will be included. **

* * *

**I'll Save You**

**Chapter One: Escape**

* * *

The sound of keys in the door was enough to wake Seth Rollins from his slumber and sit up straight. Did he really let himself fall asleep on the sofa? That was such a bad idea, a very, _very _bad idea...

He could tell that Randy was angry by how quickly the door was opened and slammed shut again. His eyes showed it all when they landed on Seth, and he gulped. Randy wasn't just angry, he was _furious. _He didn't even know what had happened - Randy's phone had rang, he left the apartment as he answered it, and had been gone for several hours.

The smallest thing could trigger Randy's temper, but his clenched fists and the expression on his face showed Seth that whatever had made him this way wasn't just a 'small thing'.

"What's happened?" he asked quietly.

"Fucking Corey Graves," Randy laughed humourlessly, and Seth winced at his tone. "He talked to our boss, didn't he? He told him about what I said to him yesterday, even though it was barely a threat."

Seth stayed silent. He knew how much Randy liked working at the tattoo parlour - and he also wasn't liking how close Randy had gotten to him.

"They said it was the last straw... I was fired. I was fucking fired! After all I've done for them!"

Randy was screaming at this point, and Seth had jumped up from the sofa. He backed away from Randy, and panicked when his back hit the wall.

"Randy, it'll be alright, just please c-calm down..."

"And _you?" _Randy hissed, his hand grabbing Seth's hair. "You don't do _anything _to help me, do you? No job, barely anything around here, just nothing. I'm fucking left to struggle to even pay the rent while you just sit around."

"I-I've not even been able to go to school..."

"It's not like you'd pass even if you _did _go! You're just wasting space around here!"

"Randy-"

"_SHUT UP!"_

Seth didn't have the chance to brace himself before his head was slammed against the wall. He barely had time to clutch his head before Randy's knee was buried into Seth's stomach, and when he fell to his knees, Randy kicked him to the floor.

"You're nothing! You hear me? _Nothing!"_

After several more kicks to Seth while he was sprawled on the floor, Randy grabbed his wallet from the table and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door shut after him. It took a few moments for Seth to catch his breath and lift himself off the floor, wincing. He had expected it to be a lot worse, though. A lot of the time when Randy was angry, he'd hit him a lot worse than that. Or, when he was in the mood, took it out sexually. He had probably went out to get drinks, so if he didn't quite have enough to make him pass out as soon as he entered the apartment, it would be worse when he got home.

Seth made his way to the bathroom and his heart sank when he looked at himself in the mirror.

A bruise which was still healing from a few days ago surrounded his right eye, as well as his throat. His lips were swollen and a trail of blood trickled down his chin. He had heavy bags under his eyes, which were dull. The body he had once been remotely proud of was far too skinny. His hair was messy and the side he usually bleached blonde was in clear need of treatment.

He looked like a mess.

The realisation came to him. He _needed _to get out of there. He had to.

Not bothering to wash the blood away from his face - which is what he had gone into the bathroom to do - he ran out of the room and into the bedroom. He looked through the drawers frantically, trying to find the clothing he had left. He grabbed a few pieces, and looked through the closet to find his old school bag. He slung it over his shoulder after he shoved the clothing into it. Clutching at his stomach which was still burning with pain from Randy's kicks, he walked over to the front door and opened it. His eyes scanned the area for Randy, and relief washed over him when he couldn't spot him anywhere. He was probably already drunk with his friends by now.

He closed the door after him and walked away as fast as he possibly could away from the apartment block. His pace began to slow down after he had made his way to the streets away from there, and he realised that he didn't have a clue about where he could go. He continued to walk nonetheless, knowing that any other option was better than going back.

A few people looked at him curiously when he walked by, obviously wondering what had happened to someone so young. They didn't say a word, however, and looked away as soon as Seth made eye contact.

He wasn't sure how long he had been walking before he fell down onto a bench. He buried his head into his hands, and he allowed the tears he had been pushing back to fall. He had no idea what he was going to do now; but would it really have been a good idea to stay?

"Hey, are you alright?"

Part of Seth panicked, thinking it could have been one of Randy's friends. He slowly raised his head, and breathed out in relief when he saw it was someone who he had never seen before.

"Holy shit," the man said when Seth looked at him and frowned. "Who did that to you? Were you attacked?"

"I'm fine," Seth mumbled. He wiped away the tears from his eyes as he looked down at the floor. He expected the man to just shrug and walk away, forget about him like every other person in the street had done, but instead, he sat down next to Seth.

"What's your name?"

"Seth," he said quietly, not looking back at the man.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"What are you doing out here at this time of night?"

Seth stayed silent, not wanting to tell this man he didn't even know what had happened. He shivered, however, which the man noticed.

"Fucking hell, you're freezing," he said, seeing that Seth wasn't even wearing a jacket. He shrugged off his own jacket and held it out to Seth. "Here, take it. You look like you need it more than I do."

Seth hesitated before he took the jacket from the man and put it on. The man's eyes flickered on a set of scars which littered the inside of each of Seth's wrists, but he didn't comment.

"Do your family know where you are?" he asked.

"...It's complicated."

The man sighed, and looked down at his hands for a moment before his eyes landed back on Seth.

"You need to tell me what you're doing out here. Do you have anywhere to go?"

Seth stayed still for a few moments before he shook his head slowly. The man sighed again and placed a hand on Seth's shoulder, though he quickly moved back a little when he saw Seth flinch.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," he said reassuringly. "I want to help you. It's dangerous for someone in your kind of state to be out at this time of night. Is there anyone I can call? Anyone at all?"

Seth shook his head again.

"I have my phone with me, but there isn't really anyone to call," he mumbled. "I'm fine, really. You don't have to help me."

"No, you're not fine. Someone has obviously done this to you and I'm not just going to let you act as if you're fine," the man said. He reached for his phone when it started to ring, motioned for Seth to stay, and answered the call. "Hey, Roman. Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. I know, I can't come now, something's come up. No, nothing has happened, not to me anyway. I'll explain tomorrow, alright? You just go with Daniel for now. I'll come another night. See you."

He hung up and looked back at Seth.

"Do you have any money for a hotel or anything?" he asked.

"I didn't have any to bring with me," Seth replied quietly.

"I thought not. Saying that, I don't really want to leave you in a hotel anyway, not when you're like this."

The man sighed and got up off the bench.

"Do you want to stay with me? At least for the night."

"No, I can't do that..." Seth said quickly, wincing when he got back to his feet. "I don't even know you and... It's too much of a burden for you. I'll be fine, it was stupid of me to come out here anyway... I should get back."

He began to walk away, but stopped when the man called out to him.

"Wait, stop!"

Seth turned slowly, and was quite surprised to see the desperation on the man's face. Why would he be so concerned about someone he didn't even know?

"If you're going back to someone who might have done this to you, I can't just watch you walk away," the man said, breathing in deeply. "It's obvious that this wasn't just an accident. Please, just... Let me help you. At least get yourself cleaned up and rested, alright?"

Seth's immediate thought of action was to say no, and quickly walk away. As fast as he could, at least. But he literally had nowhere else to turn, unless he wanted to go back to Randy. Surely this man's intentions couldn't be as bad as that? He seemed friendly enough. First impressions could be misleading, but... Did he have any other choice?

"O-Okay..." he whispered. The man breathed out in relief and gestured to his left.

"Come on, my house is only a five minute walk away. Do you want me to carry that for you?" he asked, nodding at the rucksack on Seth's back. Again, Seth thought about saying no, but his body was aching too much for him to carry it for longer. He nodded and handed it to the man.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

"Don't mention it," the man smiled, slinging it over his shoulder. "I'm Dean, by the way. Dean Ambrose."

The man's smile helped Seth to relax, though he was still tense. What if it was all an act just to lure Seth back to his home? What if he _was _a friend of Randy's, and Seth had just never seen him before? He knew it was unlikely, but it still worried him. And yet, he still walked by Dean's side down the street. He noticed how the man was taking slow strides in an attempt to walk at the same pace at Seth, considering he was both smaller and was unable to walk very quickly. He couldn't help but feel very grateful for this simple act of kindness.

The walk was silent, though Seth felt Dean's eyes land on him a few times. It was quite obvious that he was inspecting the bruise which had most likely formed by now from his head being slammed against the wall. He knew that Dean still wanted to know what happened, but he wasn't too sure if he'd be able to say it, never mind want to.

They soon walked up to a house, which was fairly small, though Seth wondered why he was living in a house rather than an apartment if Dean lived on his own.

"My friend Roman lives here with me as well, but he's out tonight," Dean explained, noticing Seth gazing at the house with obvious curiosity. "He often stays at his girlfriend's house anyway. Daniel used to live with us, but he moved in with his fiancé recently. I guess we'll find a new place soon."

"I'm sorry that I ruined your plans," said Seth, remembering that Roman had been the person who had called Dean earlier.

"Nah, it's fine," Dean shrugged. "They're both only at the pub. I can go another time. Besides, I'm the one who convinced you to come here."

He unlocked the door and motioned for Seth to enter. He hesitated, but slowly stepped inside. Dean followed him and turned on the light. The lit room, which had a homely feel to it, helped calm Seth a little.

"I have a spare room that you can sleep in, though I guess that you'd want a shower first?" Dean asked. Seth nodded, hoping that he didn't seem rude, but Dean smiled. "Thought so. Come on, it's up here. Did you bring anything that you can sleep in?"

"Yeah, I did," Seth replied, recalling that he packed an old T-shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms in his hurry. He had questioned for a moment why he would need to bring them, but was glad that he did.

He followed Dean up the stairs, and was handed the bag when they reached the top. Seth thanked him and pulled out the clothing.

"It's just here," Dean said, opening a door to their right. "Do you want me to put that in the spare room for you?"

"If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't," he smiled. Seth returned the smile and handed the rucksack to Dean, who walked into a room opposite to the bathroom and placed it on the bed. "If you need me, just call me."

"I will," said Seth. He watched Dean walk down the stairs before he entered the bathroom and locked the door. He winced as he removed his clothes, trying not to strain his stomach. Those kicks, despite the fact that they could have been more forceful, had definitely dealt some damage. He was thankful that Randy hadn't hurt him as much as he could have done.

He avoided looking in the mirror and stepped into the shower. The water stung at first when it hit the bruises on Seth's skin, but his body soon adjusted to it and he began to rinse away the blood from his face. He ran his hands through his hair and only just noticed the blood which was in it. He hadn't saw that when he had looked in his reflection earlier on. It seemed as though the hit against the wall had done more than just bruise his face.

After washing the blood out hurriedly, he wasted no time getting out of the shower. As relaxing as it was, he was exhausted, and he just needed to sleep.

The condensation on the mirror had cleared a lot by the time Seth had dried himself and pulled on his underwear and pyjama bottoms. His eyes glanced at his reflection, and he flinched when he saw the bruise forming on his face. Considering the bruise which was still healing around his eye was on the opposite side, it looked like he had got into several different fights. It was kind of true - it was just one-sided each time.

Bruises were also quickly forming on his stomach, though he was grateful that the kicks hadn't been aimed at his ribs, like they had been before. However, his finger automatically trailed across the obvious bones at the thought of them. He didn't always notice how much weight he had actually lost until he saw himself in the mirror. It wasn't on purpose - he just had so much nausea from both physical damage and worry that he couldn't always keep food down when he thought he might have the appetite to eat it.

His fingers next trailed across the inside of one of his wrists. Far too many times had he wished that Randy hadn't found him lying on the bathroom floor, blood flowing from his wrists. Perhaps he would have found peace if he hadn't.

Frowning, he looked away from the mirror and pulled on his old T-shirt to cover the body he was ashamed of. He picked up his clothes from the floor and walked over the door to unlock it. He was quite surprised to find Dean standing outside when he opened it.

"I was just coming to see if you were alright," he said. "Hey, _are_ you alright? You don't look so good."

He didn't? Perhaps the tiredness and the distaste of looking at his own body showed.

"I'm just exhausted," he replied. Dean nodded and gestured to the spare room.

"You should get to sleep, then."

Seth didn't hesitate to walk into the room and get into the bed. Dean looked at him for a moment in the doorway.

"Goodnight, Seth," he said, before he turned the light off and closed the door. He sighed and brushed a hand through his hair as he made his way to his own room. He certainly hadn't expected this tonight, but he couldn't just leave a sixteen-year-old boy who was clearly attacked by _someone _on a bench at night, with nowhere to go and without the physical capability to defend himself.

He just hoped that Seth would tell him what happened, at least the basics of it, in the morning.

* * *

Seth woke up panicked the next morning, until he realised what had happened the night before. He relaxed a little, and carefully got himself out of bed. He was extremely grateful for what Dean had done for him, but he was sure that he couldn't stay here for long.

He made his way down the stairs and found Dean in the kitchen, who was making himself some toast. The man turned around when he heard Seth's footsteps, and smiled.

"Morning," he said as he got the toast out of the toaster. "Sleep well?"

"I did, thank you," said Seth.

"You're free to sit down," Dean chuckled. Seth nodded, slightly embarrassed, and sat down in one of the dining chairs. Dean grinned and pointed at the toast on the plate. "Want this?"

"Oh no, it's yours," Seth said hurriedly.

"It's fine; I can make myself more."

Seth paused before he nodded and took the plate from Dean. He should eat - he hadn't eaten anything properly for the last couple of days, after all.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Dean asked.

"Water would be fine," Seth replied. He couldn't stomach much more than that, especially in the mornings. Dean nodded and handed him a bottle of mineral water from the fridge. A few minutes later, he had joined Seth at the dining table with a plate of his own toast and a mug of coffee. Seth had only got through one of the halves at this point; his body had gotten used to not having a whole lot of food.

"I'm really grateful for all of this," he said quietly. "Really, I am."

"It's not a problem. I couldn't just leave you like that," said Dean. He took another bite of his toast before continuing. "What happened, Seth? You don't have to tell me everything, I just... I really want to know."

Seth sighed, putting the toast back on his plate. The thought of saying his situation aloud terrified him, but didn't Dean have the right to know after helping him?

"It was... It was someone I live with who did this to me," he started after taking a deep breath.

"Someone you live with? You mean like a family member?" Dean questioned, looking concerned.

"Not exactly... It was my... My boyfriend," Seth replied, sighing. Dean was surprised at how ashamed he seemed to be about how he had a boyfriend - though he was more disgusted at how he was being treated like that.

"You don't have to sound so ashamed about being gay; I'm bisexual myself, so I'm obviously going to accept you," said Dean. "But if your boyfriend did this to you then this is very serious. Those other bruises you have as well were clearly inflicted on a different day, which shows this isn't unusual."

Seth lowered his head, and Dean suddenly felt very guilty.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you or anything. I'm just worried about you."

"It's alright," Seth said quietly. "After letting me stay the night, you deserved to know. But I shouldn't stay here for long - it's unfair on you. I'll go and get dressed, and then I'll head back. He's probably wondering where I am..."

"You can't head back," Dean said with a sense of urgency. "I don't know everything about this, but I can quite clearly see that you're scared of this guy - and for good reason. I can't just let you leave knowing that you're going back to someone like that. If you don't have any family that you can stay with, then you can stay with me until this gets sorted out."

"I don't want to be a bother, though..."

"It's not a bother. I'd rather know that you're safe than just let you go back there."

They both turned their heads at the sound of the front door opening and closing. A rather muscular Samoan man stood in the archway to the kitchen, and was looking at Seth curiously. Seth guessed that this was Roman.

"I wasn't expecting you to move on to an under-age teenager after you and AJ broke up."

"He's sixteen," said Dean. "And we're not involved like that."

"Then who is he?" the man asked, walking closer to the table. He frowned when he looked at Seth's face properly. "Shit, that looks painful. How did that happen?"

"He's the reason that I couldn't come last night. I found him on a bench like that and I couldn't just leave him; he had nowhere else to go," Dean explained.

"What about your parents? Or are they... The ones who did this?"

"No, they're not," Seth replied quietly. "But I... I don't live with them and I doubt they'd just let me back home."

Dean frowned at this - he presumed that something must have happened to Seth's parents and that was why he was living with his boyfriend. There were so many unanswered questions but he couldn't just ask them, especially not with Roman here, as well.

"Have you called the police?" Roman asked, turning to Dean, who quickly shook his head.

"It's not my decision - it's Seth's. I just wanted to make sure that he was alright. I'm letting him stay as long as he needs to. Is that fine with you?"

"Of course it is," said Roman, sitting down in one of the chairs. "I would have done the same in your position."

Seth relaxed a little. Roman's appearance had been quite intimidating, but it seemed like he was just as friendly as Dean, which was a huge relief. Roman also didn't ask any other questions in a clear attempt to not make him feel uncomfortable. For the first time in his life, he actually considered himself lucky.

A few minutes later, both he and Dean had finished their breakfast. Dean got up from his chair, stretching.

"I better go and get dressed."

"I will as well," said Seth, standing up. Despite Roman being friendly, he thought it would be a little awkward for him to stay alone with him before he has even said one word to him. Dean smiled and nodded, and Seth followed him up the stairs.

"I'm sorry about what Roman said when he first walked in," he said when they made it to the top.

"It's fine, he didn't know who I was," Seth shrugged.

"I just thought you might have been insulted."

"No, I wasn't," Seth smiled reassuringly. He hadn't really been insulted by the 'under-age' comment - he knew that he looked a little young for his age; people often thought he was fifteen rather than sixteen, especially since he started losing weight.

"Good," Dean smiled back before he entered his room. Seth was stood still for a minute, still looking at Dean's closed door before he entered the spare room. Or, apparently, _his _room for however long he was going to stay. He wasn't sure how long that would be, and where exactly he would go after. He decided it wouldn't help to dwell on these thoughts, and started changing out of his nightclothes and into a pair of slim jeans and a T-shirt he had brought with him. He paused, however, when his eyes flickered over to the clothes he had been wearing that previous day. He reached over to the pair of jeans and pulled his mobile out of one of the pockets. It still had half the battery.

There were twenty missed calls from Randy and ten text messages. His heart started thumping loudly in his chest, wondering how angry Randy was right now. Seth doubted that he was concerned, especially if he noticed that some of Seth's clothes were gone.

Too scared to read the messages, he quickly turned the phone off and put it in his rucksack. He noticed his hand was shaking when he brought it back to his side. Was Randy going to search for him? It seemed like something he might try to do. Seth wasn't even sure if Randy cared about him anymore, but that wouldn't be the reason why he'd want Seth back so badly.

Seth stopped being his own person a while ago. He had been labelled as Randy's property for months.

And what was it going to take to remove that label?

* * *

**A/N: **In case you were wondering, more details on when this started happening to Seth and how Randy changed will be explained through the story. Like Hostage, I don't know if I'll make it very long, maybe about 40,000 words? I'll try to make the chapters good enough, though.

Like I had to do before, apologies to any Randy lovers. I'm a fan of him myself. But I feel like if his character was a real-life person, especially when he's heel, then he wouldn't be normal. At all.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated!


	2. Protection

**A/N: **I'm very sorry for this late update. I usually don't take this long to finish chapters, but both my mental and physical health hasn't been the best these last couple of weeks, and so I didn't exactly have the motivation to write.

It's also smaller than the first, but I can't always write long chapters. I have other pains, but to save me going into detail, I've basically had a constant headache for over two years which can get pretty severe. Naturally I can't really write when I'm really particularly worse, and so there are times when I'd much rather simply post a smaller chapter than keep you waiting even longer for an update. Hopefully that is understandable!

Anyway, thank you for the feedback for the first chapter. I hope that you enjoy this one!

* * *

**I'll Save You**

**Chapter Two - Protection**

* * *

Seth had stayed in that same spot for several minutes, frozen by the thoughts running through his mind. Thoughts of how he was going to get his life on track, thoughts of what would happen if Randy found him. It wouldn't be a heart-warming reunion, despite how much it might appear like that to the public eye. As soon as they got home, it would be even worse than how it was before. So now Seth had gotten away, he had to stay as far away as possible. The thought of not doing just that made his anxiety rise higher and higher.

He took a deep breath and tried to push the negative thoughts away as he finally changed out of his nightclothes and into one of the spare outfits he had brought with him - just a band T-shirt and a usual pair of skinny jeans. After he had folded his nightclothes and placed them on the bed, he couldn't stop his mind wandering again. It was only the knock on the door which made him jump back into reality.

"Are you alright, Seth?" he heard Dean call through the door. He realised how long he had taken in the room, and quickly walked over to open it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking," said Seth. He stepped out onto the landing next to Dean and closed the door after him.

"Sorry, I guess I can be a bit over-protective at times," Dean laughed, rubbing his neck. Seth wasn't used to someone actually being protective over him, even if it was just in their nature, like it appeared to be with Dean. Randy had been possessive, sometimes even obsessive, but never protective. He was anything but that.

"It's okay," Seth smiled.

"I have to go to the store quickly; we were going to get the shopping done tomorrow, but obviously we need a couple more things now that you're here. Before you feel guilty, it's fine," Dean grinned. "You can come with me if you want?"

Seth quickly shook his head. He didn't exactly want to be left alone with Roman, as friendly as he seemed, but he also didn't feel brave enough to go back outside. The thought of potentially running into Randy terrified him. Dean, however, understood.

"Roman's here anyway so you won't be left on your own," he said. He walked down the stairs, Seth close behind him, and called out to Roman when he reached for the handle of the front door. "I'm just going to go to the store, Roman! I'll be back soon."

He smiled at Seth before he opened the door and left the house. Roman walked over to the hall, grinning.

"I guess it's just you and me, huh?" he said, folding his arms. His voice was perfectly friendly but the words made Seth panic. Those the words which were spoken by one of Randy's friends, who was at their apartment. Randy himself had been heading out to the store, and his friend wasn't exactly as kind as Roman was.

_"I guess it's just you and me, huh?" the man said, smirking. "So you're Seth, huh? He's mentioned you before. You're as pretty as he made you out to be."_

_Seth gulped when the man started to walk over, his eyes looking at Seth's body up and down. He had no idea what the man's name was - he don't think Randy had ever told him. He was a little smaller than Randy, but that was only in height. He looked about a year or two older, and he was quite clearly proud of his rather large muscles._

_"Seriously, why he hasn't gotten you out more is beyond me. But, I guess I can see why he'd want to keep you to himself. I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing you with me, though."_

_He suddenly reached out to Seth, grabbed his arm, and pulled him closer._

_"Not much of a talker, huh?" he asked, his other hand trailing under Seth's shirt._

_"Please, don't," Seth said quickly, breathing in deeply. _

_"Why not? Randy won't give a shit, I'm sure. I'm one of his best friends. And... Well, you really don't seem to be big enough to stop me. You might as well not resist."_

_He grinned slyly, and the hand which had been under Seth's shirt suddenly pulled out and grabbed at Seth's hair to bring his head closer._

_"Get on your knees."_

"Seth, you alright? Seth?"

He was snapped out of his flashback by Roman, who had walked over and placed a hand on Seth's shoulder, looking at him with concern. He nodded slowly, quite clearly shaken,

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry."

"Are you sure? You spaced out there for a moment," Roman frowned.

"I know, I was just distracted. I'm alright."

"I'm just making sure," Roman smiled, taking his hand off Seth's shoulder. His smile faltered when he saw Seth visibly relax from the lack of contact. What had he been through to make him so fearful of such a simple gesture?

He felt like it would be far too intruding to ask him why, however, or ask him what had happened. It was understandable: he had only met this guy a few minutes ago. Plus, Dean was the one who had found him and offered Seth to stay, so he would obviously be trusted a little more than Roman.

"Dean should be back soon enough. Do you want to go and watch TV or something for now?" Roman asked, deciding it would be best to change the subject and also do something which didn't really require for Seth to speak that much. He didn't seem very comfortable engaging in a lot of conversation, which was, again, understandable.

"Yeah, sure," Seth nodded, and he followed Roman into the lounge. He sat down on one end of the sofa, and Roman sat on the other. He reached for the remote to turn it on, and left it on the news as there wasn't really anything interesting on. Seth didn't seem to be paying much attention to the screen, anyway.

To Roman's surprise, it was actually Seth who spoke up first.

"Thanks for being fine with me staying. I don't even know where I could have gone if Dean hadn't offered for me to stay here."

"It's not a problem," Roman smiled, and was extremely close to asking Seth about why he had nowhere else to go, why he wasn't at home, but stopped himself. Seth, however, noticed this and sighed.

"I can tell that you want to know what happened, and I think I should tell you, considering you've agreed to me staying here," he said, and decided to try and keep it as simple as possible. He didn't feel brave enough to go into detail. "I've ran away from my abusive boyfriend, who I was living with. I was sitting on a bench, and that's where Dean had found me."

"God, I'm so sorry," Roman replied softly. "You seem far too much of a good person to deserve anything like that."

"No one deserves it," Seth said quietly. Roman's eyes glanced at the two bruises on his face, the ones around his throat, and the cut on his lip. How on earth could someone do that to someone who was so innocent? How could someone do that to anyone?

"If there's anything, anything at all that you need me to do for you, I'm here," he said. Seth smiled at him sweetly, and that only made Roman's heart hurt more, knowing that someone so kind had been treated so horribly.

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

* * *

Dean had returned around half an hour later, with several bags of groceries in his hands.

"Mind giving me a hand, Roman?" he called after he had announced he was back.

"Sure," said Roman, giving Seth a quick smile before he walked out of the room and took two of the bags from Dean and followed him to the kitchen. They placed the bags on the kitchen counters, and Roman started unpacking one of them, but stopped when he noticed Dean's frown.

"What's wrong?" Roman asked.

"I can't say, not without saying what has happened with Seth, and I don't want to tell you without him being alright with that."

"It's alright, I know about his boyfriend," said Roman. "He told me about him while you were out."

"Okay, well, while I was on my way back from the store, I overheard some guy in the street, with a couple of people with him," he started, lowering his voice. "I sat down on a bench nearby and pretended to look at my phone so I could carry on listening. He was asking people walking by if they had seen a small sixteen-year-old boy with two-toned hair."

"Oh shit," Roman said, a hand over his mouth. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Yeah, he asked me that very question. I just told him that I hadn't. But fuck, this guy was big, Roman. Well, not exactly any bigger than me in muscle, definitely not bigger than you, but he was huge compared to Seth. If that's the guy that Seth has been living with..."

Dean inhaled a deep breath before he continued.

"He was older as well; about our age. My guess is that he was twenty."

"So why would he live with someone like this? Did he have nowhere else to live?"

Dean sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My guess is that his parents kicked him out of the house, probably for being gay. His boyfriend, this guy, was probably the only person he could go to. Maybe he changed or something, I don't know," he said, and sighed deeply before he continued. "We need to keep him away from that guy, Roman. God knows what would happen if he ended up back with him."

"We will, don't worry," Roman said reassuringly. "He'll be alright."

"I sure hope so, because he really doesn't deserve that," Dean sighed, and he started to unpack the groceries from the bags.

"I said the same thing to him," Roman said. Both him and Dean stayed silent as they both put away the groceries, though just as Roman was about to leave the kitchen, Dean spoke up again.

"I can see the pain in his eyes," he said quietly. "It makes me furious that he's been made that way. He gets scared, too, with contact. It's awful."

"I know, he seemed fearful of me before, for a moment," Roman sighed. "But he'll be okay, Dean. He's safe now, and he'll get better. He just needs time."

Dean nodded, and both of them made their way back to the lounge. Seth was still sitting on the sofa, though his eyes weren't on the television and he was quite clearly lost in thought. When Dean sat down next to him, he jumped.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's fine, I was just thinking," Seth replied, smiling, though it seemed slightly forced. Dean knew better than to question why, as Seth had already confessed more about what had happened to him, and so returned the smile.

That happened a lot throughout the day. Seth drifting off into his thoughts, a noise or movement startling him, followed by an apology from either Dean or Roman. It seemed as though Seth being left in silence led to him thinking about things, and Dean could tell that they weren't exactly nice. He was very good at reading body language. The way that Seth picked at his nails and sometimes bit down on his lip was a clear sign of being nervous. Dean hated seeing him like this, but obviously, it wasn't his fault. He still didn't know everything about Seth's life, at least not enough to know how long it had been going on for and how bad it was, but he understood why Seth had been so nervous.

However, the boy seemed to trust Dean a lot, more than Roman, despite his friendly attitude. Dean could see Seth relax when they sat down next to each other, and he seemed to start finding it a little easier to speak to him.

The following day, he even began to answer one of Dean's questions without it even being asked.

"Randy was never like this, not at first, at least," Seth started quietly. "It was probably stupid, being with someone several years older than me when I was just fifteen. I was almost sixteen, but it was still a bad idea. He was nineteen at the time. But I honestly thought he was making my life better, and I suppose he was, at first. I don't know what I would have done once I had turned sixteen without him."

He was going to stop there, but somehow, it felt better to say this rather than keep it to himself. And so, the words kept coming.

* * *

_Seth, his mother, his step-father and his older brother were sat at the dining table, eating the roast that had been prepared. Meaningless conversations stopped the silence, as well as the same kind of questions which were asked everyday. The only difference was that it was Seth's sixteenth birthday._

_"I'm surprised that you didn't ask us if you could bring someone along. A friend, or girlfriend, maybe?" his step-father said, before raising an eyebrow. "I would have thought you'd have one by now."_

_It was a statement that was said quite often. They didn't know of Seth's older boyfriend, Randy. He probably wouldn't ever tell them about him, not when they made it so obviously clear that they were homophobic._

_"Perhaps he is just waiting for the right girl to come along. Isn't that right, Seth?" his mother questioned, smiling. He returned the smile and nodded, hoping that would end this conversation, but of course, his brother had to speak up._

_"Or the right guy, that is," he sniggered. His mother sighed, shaking her head._

_"Don't be so childish," she said. "Seth isn't gay."_

_"Oh, sure he isn't," he said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, you could see it a mile away."_

_"Ryan, shush! Don't start with this."_

_"Actually, I think he has a point," their father said, tilting his head slightly at Seth. "He has never shown interest in girls whatsoever."_

_"Perhaps he is just not ready! The fact that he hasn't had a girlfriend yet doesn't mean he's gay."_

_"Oh, please," his brother scoffed, the tone making Seth wince. "It's so obvious. He's a fucking fag."_

_"Don't swear at the dinner table!" she scolded. She turned to Seth, and sighed. "Just tell them, honey."_

_Seth couldn't find the right words to say. Should he lie, convince them that he was straight, or should he confess? He didn't have the chance to decide for himself._

_"See mom, he's completely silent! I told you!"_

_"Ryan, enough of that! Seth isn't gay, he's _not. _He just needs to find the right girl. If he thinks he's gay, it's just a phase. He'll get over-"_

_"It's not!" Seth suddenly shouted, his emotions getting the better of him. His father and brother's words stung, but hearing his mother make excuses for him was just as hard for him to hear. "I am gay and I will forever will be that way! Are you happy now?"_

_A gasp escaped his lips when a hand reached across the table and struck him across the face. He looked back at his father, who was clearly furious._

_"I will not listen to any of that! I am not having a fag live in this house!"_

_"Calm down," Seth's mother said, though she looked rather angry herself. She took a deep breath and turned to Seth. "Go to your room so we can talk."_

_"Oh yes, he can go to his room. But not so we can talk. Get your things."_

_"Wait, what?" Seth questioned, his hand still covering his red cheek._

_"You heard me. Whether you stay with a friend or whatever, you're not living here anymore. You can come back if you see sense."_

_"But what if I have nowhere to go? I'd be homeless!"_

_"Well, then you'd have to get over these sick... Urges, that you have."_

_Seth could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did his father really care that little? His mother hadn't protested to this, either. Ryan seemed to actually be _pleased.

_"Don't ever expect me to come back, then," Seth said quietly, and ran upstairs to his room. He grabbed the rucksack he used for school, and started to pack some of his clothing and his phone charger. Tears threatened to spill, though he didn't allow them to. He wouldn't show his family how weak he actually was in this situation and how his courage was mostly fake._

_When he finished his packing, he looked up to see his mother in the doorway._

_"You can come back," she said. "You just need to stop-"_

_"I'm not stopping anything," Seth interrupted. "My sexuality isn't a choice, and I'm not going to live the rest of my life here pretending to be something I'm not. So I guess this is goodbye."_

_He barged past her and walked quickly down the stairs, not giving his father or his brother one glance. He exited the house, making sure to slam the door after himself. He then began to walk through the streets, making his way to the only place he could go._

_After about fifteen minutes of walking, he knocked on the door of his boyfriend's apartment. The door soon opened, and Seth was quickly pulled in by the concerned man._

_"What are you doing here, Seth?" he asked, glancing at his still red cheek. "Did someone slap you?"_

_"It was my dad," Seth sighed. "The news about me being gay is out properly now, and I've been kicked out. I didn't have anywhere else to turn."_

_The tears he had been holding back started to fall, and he was immediately wrapped in Randy's arms. _

_"Shh, it's okay," the man said softly, rubbing Seth's back comfortingly. "You're safe with me. I'll protect you."_

* * *

Seth was silent for a few moments after he told Dean this, and when he spoke again, his voice was very quiet.

"He did at first. Protect me, I mean. And it was amazing. But then..."

"He changed?" Dean questioned softly, and Seth nodded. He looked down at the carpet, a few tears falling down his cheeks. He jumped slightly when Dean's hand went near his face, but immediately relaxed when he felt his tears being wiped away.

"It's alright," Dean whispered. "I'm nothing like Randy. I'm going to protect you from him, I promise."

Seth nodded. He definitely believed that.

* * *

**A/N: **Ryan is just a creation of mine. He's not really that important - he probably won't make another appearance.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! I apologise again for the late update. I'll try to get the next one posted sooner.

Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you for reading, and I hope you all had a good Christmas, if you celebrate.


	3. Encounter

**A/N: **My apologies once again for both a short chapter and a late update. My health has been playing up even more than usual these last few weeks. I can barely focus on this as I type it, so I'm sorry if there are any errors in the chapter I didn't quite notice.

Basically, having most of my body be in pain literally all the time isn't fun. Especially when the headache part of it has been there for two and a half years and is pretty severe, and the worst parts of my body restrict me from both standing for even short periods of time (without huge pain, at least) as well as things while even sitting. At least I'm getting referred back to the hospital and physiotherapy, which I got released from both, for some reason.

But anyway, enough about me. I hope you enjoy the chapter, despite the length still not being my preferred length.

* * *

I'll Save You

Chapter Three - Encounter

* * *

It was quite shocking how quickly Seth began to trust Dean more and more.

Strangely enough, he felt more comfortable in his presence more than most people, and he had only met the man a few days ago. It was like his presence was completely comforting. He was caring, definitely, and protective, though it was also his humour that made Seth feel at ease. His jokes were always enough to make Seth laugh, or even just smile, even if they were told to Roman instead. It was quite clear that the two of them had been friends for a long time. Or, at least, just got along as soon as they had met. Their friendship was definitely something which one could easily be jealous of. Seth, however, didn't feel any jealously. He simply enjoyed witnessing the strong friendship with his own eyes.

He had never had true friends of his own. During middle school, he had always been far too shy and nervous to talk to the other students. He usually kept to himself, despite teachers encouraging him to talk to others. At this time, he didn't really get approached by others. He got called the odd name, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

His time in high school however, was much worse.

Seth, once again, kept to himself once high school started, being far too fearful to speak to others in this much larger environment. People didn't bother him a huge lot, with the exception of a fair few, but the problem was a crush Seth had on one of the people in the group. It just so happened that it was this particular guy who was the one who played a prank on Seth, rather than one of the others.

Seth had been sitting at the back of the classroom, when the boy came up to him and sat down next to him. What followed was a low voice saying he was sorry for how he and his friends had treated Seth, and how he had personally always liked Seth. He then 'confessed' about how he had a crush on him. What made Seth believe his words was how sincere he had sounded, and how he even laughed nervously. It was no surprise that he had taken acting classes.

So of course, Seth confessed his own crush, which he immediately regretted. This was obviously not the expected reaction, and soon enough, the word that he was gay spread like hellfire through the school. It was actually when he was being pushed around by some of these bullies that Randy had came along to stop it, and so, how they met.

This is what he had told Dean, when he asked. Somehow, saying this made him feel a little better.

* * *

There was a knock on the door on this day. Roman heaved himself off the sofa and came back a few moments later with a bearded man. He seemed to be an average height, but he looked small with Roman standing next to him.

"Brie is currently shopping with Nikki and I thought I'd escape for a while," the man chuckled. He then looked at Seth, who was sitting next to Dean, curiously. "Who is this?"

"He's name is Seth," Dean said. "Seth, this is Daniel."

"It's nice to meet you," Daniel smiled, walking over. His eyes flickered over the faint bruises which still lingered on Seth's face for a moment, though they quickly looked away. He seemed to realise that it wasn't something he should ask about.

"I thought you'd want to tag along with them," Roman said, smirking. "I know how much you _love _tagging along for some nice girly shopping."

"Oh, I _adore _it," Daniel laughed. "I just thought it'd be nice to come over and see how you guys have been without me. So, how _have _you been?"

"We've been fairly good," said Dean.

"Yeah, we adjusted quickly after you moving out and leaving us," Roman said jokingly. "Though at least we have Seth with us now. It's filled that empty space in our hearts."

"Don't be so dramatic," Daniel chuckled. He paused for a moment, clearly contemplating how he could ask one of the questions lingering in his mind without seeming rude. "So, uh, where did you meet Seth?"

"I came across him when I was making my way to meet you both," Dean replied. "He is the reason I couldn't come."

"Ah, that explains it," Daniel nodded. It was quite obvious that he was curious to know more. _Why _exactly did Dean meeting Seth make him cancel plans, where the boy came from, why he was staying, the healing, yet still evident, bruises... But it was also obvious that Daniel definitely didn't want to intrude. "So have you heard anything from AJ at all?"

"Yeah, a little," said Dean. "We've still talked over these last few weeks. It's not like the breakup made us want to lose contact completely."

"I overheard Brie and Nikki gossiping about how they think they saw AJ and Paige together," Daniel chuckled.

"It doesn't really surprise me," Roman commented. "AJ had never really bothered covering the fact that she likes girls too, and let's face it, Paige could never be straight."

"Punk is bound to be pissed off when he hears the news, though," Dean laughed. "It's obvious that he still has a thing for her. Maybe if he didn't spend so long getting annoyed at me, he would have got to her before Paige did."

"Well, you know what he's like," Daniel said, shaking his head. "I better get going; they'll be home soon and will, no doubt, want to show me all of the things they bought today."

"Sounds like fun. I'll walk you to the door," Roman chuckled.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" Daniel said jokingly, before he followed Roman out of the lounge. Dean's eyes finally glanced back at Seth, who had been silent for the whole time Daniel had been there.

"Hey, you alright?" Dean asked, his voice softer than it had been a couple of minutes ago. "I'm sorry if that was awkward for you or anything. We tend to get carried away."

"Oh no, you don't have to apologise." Seth said quickly. "It wasn't awkward or anything. I just..."

"Yeah?"

"I've never had a friendship like that. I don't know what it feels like to have something like that and... Well, I guess I just didn't want to intrude or interrupt or anything."

"You wouldn't have been intruding. Both Roman and I don't mind you staying here, and Daniel is friendly. He's easy to get along with," Dean said reassuringly.

"I can tell," Seth smiled. "How long have the three of you been friends?"

"Since high school," Dean replied, leaning back against the sofa. A grin grew on his face. "Roman and I met while we were playing football in gym class. I kicked it right in his face, we laughed about it after class, and then we became friends. He introduced me to Daniel, Brie and Nikki, while I introduced him to AJ and Paige."

"You've known each other for quite a while, then."

"Yeah, five years now."

"Worst years of my life," Roman said, appearing in the doorway. He grinned and shook his head. "Nah, I'm kidding. It's more like the best. I'm going to go for a shower, I'll be back soon."

"Alright, I'll try to not miss you too much."

"You'll have to give it a very good try. I know how much me not being in your presence upsets you," Roman said jokingly, before he left the room, Dean and Seth watching as he did so.

There was silence for a few moments before Dean broke it.

"So how long, exactly, have you known Randy?" he questioned, his voice slightly slow as though he was somewhat worried about asking something which would upset Seth. He, however, didn't mind at all. He was starting to realise just how much speaking about what had happened within the last year was actually beneficial. It was better for him to talk about it rather than keep it bottled up inside.

"It was just over a year ago, when he walked over to me and those bullies that time," Seth started. "He gave me his number, and told me to call him if I ever needed someone. We talked a few times, and soon enough it was clear that there was something between us. I know it might have seemed stupid of me, being with a guy four years older than me when I was just fifteen, but I honestly thought that it might have worked out well between us."

"Maybe it would have, if he hadn't... Well, turned out how he did," Dean replied softly.

"Maybe," Seth said, shrugging. "It really was great, for the first few months. It was nice to actually have someone who I could talk to properly. I was never able to speak to my family about my problems and feelings, and I didn't have any friends to talk to. He really did help me. But then... Well, it was small things at first. Getting frustrated over things easily, becoming stressed, having a somewhat smaller temper than usual. It kind of just went on from there, until one night, he just snapped."

_"How was work today?" Seth asked as Randy walked through the door._

_"Fine, until Corey fucking decided to open his mouth and start pestering me the whole afternoon," he said through gritted teeth. He threw his bag off his shoulders and onto the sofa before he walked over to the kitchen."You know, it would have been nice if you at least showed you're grateful that I let you live with me and actually had made me food for when I got home."_

_"I'm sorry, I only got home from school half an hour ago and I've had a heap of work to do," Seth replied, slightly hurt at Randy's tone of voice. He followed him into the kitchen, watching as he put food down on the counter slightly forcefully._

_"I don't even know why you're bothering with school when you could actually be working and help me pay the rent."_

_"But... I did ask you last month if you wanted me to get a job to help and you told me to focus on my education and future."_

_"Well, things change, Seth," Randy said, turning to his boyfriend who could immediately see his anger. "I can't fucking pay for everything around here anymore."_

_"Alright, I'll see if I can get something part-"_

_"Part-time? You can barely handle school on its own. I doubt you'd be able to fucking handle both that and a job."_

_The words stung Seth a little, and he found himself getting angry as well._

_"There's no need for that," he said, trying to keep his voice calm._

_"It's the truth!"_

_"Just calm down, Randy!"_

_Suddenly, the back of Randy's hand slammed against Seth's cheek. His head jolted to the side from the force, his hand reaching up to cover the stinging red skin. He was then immediately pulled into a hug._

_"I'm so sorry Seth, I didn't mean to. I'm so fucking sorry..."_

"Of course, that wasn't the last time," said Seth. "It seemed like his anger just got worse and worse, and I seemed to be the easiest thing for him to take it out on."

"You deserve someone who would treat you completely better than that," Dean said, his voice fairly quiet, as it always was when Seth spoke about Randy.

"Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that," Seth admitted, looking down at his hands. His words made Dean frown.

"Why is it hard for you to believe it?"

"Because after all that happened, after everything he said, I sometimes feel like I did something to deserve it. I started to believe the things he said to me after a while. I guess it's because I was called useless and other things by my family in the past as well. Randy saying the same things made me start to believe it is true."

Dean sighed, and slid off the sofa so that he could crouch in front of Seth. He held onto the smaller pair of hands, making Seth look up a little at Dean's eyes.

"Listen, you. What they've said isn't true, alright? You're such a sweet person, one of the sweetest I've met. You don't deserve anything like that, not one bit. You've not done anything wrong, only they have. So please don't believe what they've said, and especially don't believe that you deserved it. You're worth so much more than those words."

Dean squeezed Seth's hands softly before he stood up, his eyes still fixed on Seth's.

"That is what you should believe, instead."

There was silence for several moments while Dean's words sunk in. It had been a long time since someone had something so positive to say about him. In fact, he couldn't properly remember a time when he had been told something like this.

"Thank you..." Seth said softly. "You have no idea how kind of you it is to say something like that to me. I'm very grateful."

"There's no need to thank me. I'm just saying the truth," Dean said. His eyes looked over at Roman standing in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not interuppting anything," he chuckled. "But we're running short on a couple of things again."

"Another trip to get food it is," Dean laughed, and paused for a moment before he turned to Seth. "The three of us could all go, if you want. You don't have to, of course."

Seth pondered over this. It _would _be good for him to leave the house for a while. He hadn't left since he had first arrived there. What was the worse that could happen? If he _did _end up bumping into Randy, which he doubted, he'd have Dean and Roman there by his side.

He slowly nodded his head.

"Sure... I'll go. It'll be nice to be out of the house for a while."

Both Dean and Roman smiled, and gestured for Seth to follow them to the door. Dean threw him a jacket from a hanger when they reached it.

"It's one of the smallest I have," he chuckled. "It's a bit cold out there. It's best if you wear it."

Seth nodded and pulled it on. In his rush to leave the apartment, he had completely forgotten to bring any of his jackets. The thought hadn't crossed his mind during his panic.

The fresh air hitting his face made him realise how much he had missed being outside. He had always used to love taking a book outside to read in the park, before things got too complicated for him to even leave the apartment. It was clear that he had made the right decision.

The walk to the store only took about ten minutes, but he still appreciated the time outside. He wandered behind Roman and Dean while the two of them were looking through the shelves, and quietly laughed as the two of them argued.

"That cheese is fucking horrible, Dean. You're mental."

"Feel free to get the one you want, but I'm getting this one."

"We are _not _getting two different types of cheese! I'm on a tight budget, you know."

"No you're not."

"Shut up. We're not getting two."

A hand on Seth's shoulder startled him while he was watching the two men argue, though due to how much he felt at ease, it didn't worry him.

"What is it?" he said as he turned around, thinking it would be someone asking him to move out of their way, though his heart stopped when he saw that it was the very person he had hoped _not_ to see.

"Well, well. You're the last person I expected to see here."

* * *

**A/N: **I hadn't even planned to have any cliffhangers in this story, but... Well, I always include them. It seems to be a natural thing with me.

I've had a guest reviewer ask me twice now if I can include them as Seth's sister. I'm sorry, but it really wouldn't be fitting. Seth only has his brother, who I made up for this story, and a sister wouldn't really be fitting. If he had one who he got along with, he would have spoken to her as soon as he was kicked out of the house, and probably would have moved in with her as soon as the abuse started happening.

Anyway, thank you for all of the positive feedback so far. I'm very grateful! Also, thank you for putting up with my incredibly long author's notes and updates. I'm annoying, I know.

Until next time!


	4. Promise

**A/N: **Apologies for taking so long to update. I've been pretty distracted lately, mainly with meeting my girlfriend. I've also started a novel, so obviously as I also do a lot of art, my focus has been on multiple things. Plus, I haven't really had the motivation for writing recently. But I finally managed to get it done tonight, go me!

I've raised the rating now to M, just to be on the safe side. I wasn't planning on doing this until later on in the story but it seems as though I have to. This story won't be very long anyway - probably as long as Hostage - so it was going to happen sooner or later anyway.

Hopefully you enjoy the chapter. It isn't very long, I don't think, but I still hope it's a good one.

* * *

I'll Save You

Chapter Four - Promise

* * *

The man smirked, and the look in his eyes was enough to make Seth shiver. The hand on his shoulder wasn't gripping tightly enough so that Seth wouldn't have been able to get away, but something stopped him from doing so. Roman and Dean, a little further down the aisle and still distracted by each other, were oblivious to what was going on.

"Randy, what's the hold up?" a man - Seth knew him far too well - had walked over besides his friend, and was also smirking when he noticed Seth. "Oh, you found him, did you? Didn't expect him to be out here, especially on his own."

"_Are _you on your own?" Randy questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Come on, bring him with us. I'm up for another round with him."

The words made a memory flash in his mind, one which he had been trying to forget, but always managed to creep back.

_"You know, Randy, you sure are generous," the man laughed, crouching in front of Seth. His hand held the younger boy's chin, lifting his head up, though Seth couldn't see him due to the blindfold clouding his vision. "It's hard to believe that you're willing to share such a cute one. You were never like this with your girlfriends."_

_"That's because my girlfriends were never quite as good as this guy," Randy chuckled. The words from both of them hurt Seth - it was like he was an object, just being used for other people's desires. It was hard for him to believe that he had gone from being in a caring relationship to _this. _Perhaps Randy had never cared as much as he thought._

_"Yeah, maybe that's true. This guy's cute enough to make any straight guy question his sexuality."_

_"You're right there, Paul," said Randy, and the creaking of the chair made Seth realise that he was probably leaning back, his hands resting on the back of his head ready to watch the scene unfold in front of him._

_"Well, as much I want to try him out in a way I never got the chance to before..." Paul started, reaching under Seth's handcuffed hands to squeeze his behind before he continued. "I miss that skilled mouth of his. He was much better than my ex ever was."_

_"Feel free. I'm not letting you do this all the time, you know. It's just a treat for you considering I had no cash to buy you anything."_

_"This is better than anything you could have bought me."_

_Seth could hear the sound of a zip, and didn't have much time to think before the hand under his chin moved to grip his two-toned hair, and his head was forced down onto the man's erection. He immediately obeyed - he could do very little about it in the state he was in._

_"God baby, just like that," the man groaned, and Randy let out a laugh._

_"He's gotten very good at that."_

_"I can tell. Boy, you've trained this one nicely."_

_The two men continued to talk, as though Seth couldn't hear any of the words they were saying, until the man pulled Seth's head back up by his hair._

_"Alright, that's enough," he said, and Seth could practically hear his smirk. "I bet it's nice to be inside him, huh?"_

_"It's like nothing else."_

"Hey, I want a little chat first," Randy laughed, immediately startling Seth out of his thoughts, though he was glad. The man tilted his head slightly, looking into Seth's eyes. "Why'd you run off, eh? I came home, and you were gone with most of your clothes. I had no idea where you were. It was very... Inconsiderate."

Then he frowned. His spare hand grabbed Seth's wrist, and lifted his arm up slightly.

"This isn't your jacket," he said, inspecting it before he looked back at Seth in the eyes. Randy's own eyes narrowed. "So whose is it? Already got-"

He was interrupted by an unexpected fist slamming into his face. Both hands immediately let go of Seth as he stumbled to his knees. The boy fell backwards, slightly fazed by what had happened, though one of Roman's strong arms caught him.

"It's alright," he murmured. Both of them then watched Dean, who was glaring down at Randy with the darkest expression that Seth had ever seen him wear. Paul then helped Randy get up off the floor, and both of the men stared at Dean standing in front of them. Dean was the same size as Paul, and merely an inch smaller than Randy, so they both seemed somewhat cautious.

"Stay the fuck away from him," Dean spat, his eyes fixed on Randy's. "He doesn't deserve to have you in his life. So both you and your friend here better stay far away from him if you know what's good for you."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Randy said, tilting his head slightly. A small amount of blood was dripping from his lip, though he was apparently ignoring it, just like he he was ignoring the couple of people watching them from further down the aisle.

"Yeah, actually, it is. I can do much more than a punch in the face, believe me."

"It's not just him threatening you, either," Roman added, gently pushing Seth behind him as he stepped forward so he was stood by Dean's side. He was a tiny bit smaller than the rest, but that was just in height. His muscular arms made Randy clearly take him seriously. "If you want to get to Seth, you'll have to get through me as well."

"Well, it seems like you've gotten yourself a couple of bodyguards, eh?" Randy said, chuckling. "But you'll come running back to me soon enough. I know you will. Your life is nothing without me in it. It's only a matter of time before you're back at my door, begging for forgiveness. I'll see you when that happens."

Neither Dean or Roman had the chance to retaliate before Randy grabbed his friend's arm and the two of them walked away. Dean immediately turned to Seth after they left and pulled him into a hug.

"Did he hurt you, Seth? Are you alright?" he asked as he pulled away softly.

"No, he didn't. I'm fine," Seth said quietly. Dean easily noticed that he was rather shaken.

"It'll be okay. I'll protect you."

"I'm here for you as well, Seth," Roman said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder gently. "We won't let anything happen to you."

"Are you alright?" a woman from further down the aisle asked, who was walking towards them. "That man looked dangerous. Should I call the police?"

"No, that's okay," Seth said quickly. For some reason, despite everything that had happened, he never wanted to go to police. He didn't know whether it was out of fear or not. Perhaps it was, but the fear was him getting blamed. Either that, or the police not taking it seriously. Part of him knew that the smartest idea _would _be to go to the police, but he always pushed the idea out of his mind and stopped himself.

"It'll be fine," Dean said reassuringly. "We've handled it."

"I'm just making sure," the woman smiled, before she titled her head slightly to one side. "Hey, do I know you two from somewhere?"

There was a pause, before Roman grinned.

"Kaitlyn?"

"Oh, I _knew _I recognised you from somewhere!" she laughed. "It's good to see you again, Roman. So you must be Dean?"

"That's me," Dean said, before he turned to Seth. "This is Kaitlyn, Seth. She went to the same school as Roman and I."

"It's nice to meet you," the woman said. "I can't believe how long it's been! We should definitely meet up together and some point, catch up on everything that's happened."

"Of course," Roman nodded.

"I have to go, I'm supposed to be seeing AJ. But it was nice seeing you again!"

She looked at Seth before she left, however, and when she spoke, her voice was soft.

"You're safe with these two. I've never met two guys anymore loyal than them. Take care."

"Thank you," Seth smiled, and the three of them watched as the brunette walked away. Dean then put an arm around Seth's shoulders, sighing.

"Come on, we'll go and pay for the things and then we'll go home."

* * *

It was a painful thing for Dean to see Seth be so much more visibly tense and anxious than he had been before. It was like how he had been when he had first started staying at Dean and Roman's home, before he had started to grow a little more confidence, or at least seemed to feel more comfortable being around them. But being confronted by Randy had completely shaken him. He only ever spoke when Dean and Roman asked him a question, aside from that, he stayed silent. His eyes often stared into space, as though he was constantly thinking about what happened.

Dean didn't know how to comfort Seth at all. He voiced his worries to Roman, who, despite being clearly concerned himself, tried to be reassuring.

"He'll be fine, Dean," he said. "We just need to give him a bit of time to move on from this. It's natural for him to be shaken after what happened. Anyone would be if that happened to them."

"I sure hope so," Dean sighed. Roman smiled sadly.

"Me too. I'm going to have to go for my night shift now. You're alright for me to leave you both, aren't you?"

"Yeah, of course," Dean replied. He had not gone to work himself for the last few days - he had phoned, pretending he had one of the viruses going around, and couldn't stop being sick. He knew he would have to go back soon enough, but he didn't feel like it would be right for him to go back yet.

"It'll be alright, okay?" Roman said, pulling Dean into a hug. "Don't worry."

"Obviously I'm going to worry," Dean chuckled humourlessly. "See you later."

Roman nodded and said a quick and soft goodbye to Seth (who looked startled for a moment before he gave Roman a small smile) before he grabbed his jacket and exited the house. Dean then turned round to Seth, who looked up at him as he was walking over.

"If you need to talk about anything, I'm here," he said. "I know it just seems like what everyone says, but I truly mean it."

"I know that, and I really do appreciate it," Seth replied, pausing for a moment. "But... But I don't think talking about it is going to help me right now. I'm sorry if it sounds rude or anything like that."

"No, it doesn't. I completely understand."

Seth nodded, before he slowly got himself up from the sofa.

"I think I'm going to go to bed, if that's okay. I'm feeling pretty exhausted after what happened and everything."

"Of course it's okay," Dean smiled. He headed up the stairs with Seth, and watched as he opened the door to his room. He stopped when he was in the doorway, and turned to give Dean a small smile before he closed the door after him. Dean remained in the same spot for a few moments before he opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside.

Meanwhile, Seth heard the sound of a razor coming from the bathroom after he had fell down onto the bed. He felt so exhausted, and yet, he didn't want to sleep. His mind was still going wild after what happened earlier that day. He had started to slowly gain some confidence, even if it was just a small amount, and was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, it was all going to turn out okay in the end. Perhaps that would be possible. But being confronted by Randy had ruined that. Simply the fact that he couldn't even speak for himself made him feel weak.

Though his mind was screaming for him not to, he reached into his bag for his phone, pressing the button to switch it on. He didn't know why he was doing this, the last thing he wanted was to see if he had been sent any messages, but something prevented him from stopping himself.

He should have stopped himself, however, for the single message he read was the thing which made him believe that there was nothing he could do to get away from everything except from taking his own life.

* * *

Dean exited the bathroom about ten minutes later, and was about to make his way over to his bedroom when he noticed that Seth's door was open. He frowned, remembering that Seth had closed it after himself. Dean entered the room, his eyes automatically landing on Seth's phone - which he knew Seth had placed in his bag several days ago - lying on his bed. He picked it up, silently thankful when there was no passcode. Seth hadn't exited the message he had read before he placed his phone down, and after Dean had read it, he knew that Seth must have dropped it immediately after reading the message.

_Well, it was surely nice to see you today, Seth. I'm still curious about who that guy is, but he doesn't really matter, does he? We both know that I'm the one person in your life. You're just going to come crawling back to me sooner or later, because there is no other option. It's probably a burden on those two, the ones you're staying with. Have you thought about that? Of course you have. I know you better than anyone._

_They're only going to put up with you for so long before you're back out on the streets again. Where will you go then? Obviously back to me. You know it, I know it. So just stop all this shit, Seth. Come back before I start to get angry and it just gets worse for you._

_You don't really have any other option._

Dean swore under his breath. The hatred he felt towards Randy had rose to a whole new level. Though when his eyes shifted to his side, his thoughts completely focused on Seth. A blade, which he presumed to be from a razor, was placed on the bed next to him. The blood which was on it was completely fresh.

It was clear that Seth had found another option, though it was certainly one that Dean didn't want to happen.

He rushed out of the room and down the stairs. Barely shutting the door after him, he ran out of the house, panicking when he wasn't sure if Seth would have gone left or right. Praying that his guesses were correct, he turned right. There was a bridge that way, above a road below, and if Seth was about to do the very thing that Dean wanted to prevent, he was heading in the right direction.

A wave of relief washed over him when he saw Seth near the edge. Dean hadn't even noticed the rain until he saw how soaked Seth's hair was.

"Seth!" Dean shouted, running over to him. He stopped when Seth raised a hand, wincing when he saw several cuts littered on the wrist, blood still dripping out.

"Don't," Seth said in a voice that Dean could barely hear. "Don't come any closer."

"Seth, don't do this. This isn't the way."

"What else can I do? Randy was right, eventually I'm going to be back out on my own again and just going to go back to him. But I can't... I can't go back."

"We're not going to kick you out!" Dean exclaimed. "We're here for you, Seth. We're not going to leave you on your own."

"My family did," Seth said quietly. "My friends did too. Everyone does, sooner or later. It's always just a matter of time."

"It's not like that with me, I promise you."

"It's like a never-ending nightmare. I'm only sixteen, and I've already had enough. I just want it all to stop. This is the only way."

"No, it isn't. Look at me, Seth. Please."

There was several moments of silence before Seth slowly turned round to face Dean.

"There _is _another way, and that is to stay with me. You don't have to go back to Randy, and you don't have to die for it to stop. I know how hard everything has been for you and you didn't deserve any of it. But it will get better, Seth. Just let me help you."

"I don't... I don't think you can."

"How do you know that unless you let me?"

Seth didn't reply to those words, but he also didn't move when Dean took a step closer. Then he fell to the ground on his knees, breaking out into tears as he covered his face with shaking hands. Dean quickly crouched down in front of him and pulled him into his arms.

"It's okay, it's okay," he murmured, one hand gently rubbing Seth's back. "I'm going to help you get through this. I'm going to save you, I promise."

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you to those who have reviewed or sent me a message regarding this story and/or my writing. I always adore hearing people's thoughts and I am honestly so grateful!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will try and get the next one updated sooner. Until Next time!


	5. Believing

**A/N: **I was at about 1,700 words for several days before I suddenly got inspired earlier this evening. So, here's the chapter, and it's a bit longer than the recent ones! I've been pretty disappointed with the lengths despite people saying it's fine so I'm glad I wrote a bit more than usual.

I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

I'll Save You

Chapter Five - Believing

* * *

Dean had to pull away eventually, though his hands rested on either side of Seth's face before he pulled away completely. He sighed, mainly out of relief, before he helped the younger boy up off the wet ground. His hand lingered for a moment while he held the back of Seth's wrist, breathing in a sharp intake of breath when he looked over the cuts that lingered on the inside.

"I… I didn't want you to find me dead," Seth whispered, startling Dean as he didn't expect him to speak. "So I didn't go as deeper as I planned and… And I came here."

The words hurt Dean's heart. Even at the moment he wanted to take his own life, he _still _managed to at least make sure that it wouldn't have been Dean who had found his body. There was never a moment where Seth wasn't even just the tiniest bit thoughtful. Such a caring person didn't deserve even a fraction of this pain.

"Come on, we need to get you dry and cleaned up."

Seth nodded, though after a minute of walking, Dean had no choice but to wrap a supportive arm around Seth's shoulders. He was simply far too exhausted to be able to walk on his own. Luckily, Dean's house wasn't very far away, and it didn't take them very long to get there.

Once they entered, Dean quickly grabbed a towel from the cupboard and handed it to Seth, who immediately wrapped it around his shoulders.

"Wait here, you need some dry clothes."

The best thing would have been for him to just have a shower – that was Dean's own plan – but he wasn't even sure if Seth's legs had the energy to keep him standing. So he quickly grabbed Seth's nightclothes from his room, and headed back down the stairs to hand them to him.

"I'm going to go and get you some bandages and a cup of tea, so you can change while I'm gone."

It didn't take very long for Dean to do just that, so he made sure to call through the door to see if Seth had changed. The last thing Dean wanted was to walk in on Seth while he wasn't decent. God knows how badly that might affect him.

"I need to clean these up for you," he said as he sat down on the sofa next to Seth. He gently held onto the back of Seth's wrist, and reached into his first aid kit with his other hand. Seth flinched slightly when the tissue pressed against the skin, but aside from that, he stayed completely still. He didn't flinch at all during the process on his second wrist. A few minutes later, they were both wrapped in bandages.

"There we are," Dean smiled.

"Thank you," Seth said quietly before he had a few sips of his tea. Dean could tell from simply his voice that his tiredness hadn't reduced one bit.

"You need to get some sleep," he said. He spoke again just as Seth nodded and placed his hands on the sofa either side of him to push himself up. "You can just sleep down here if it makes it easier for you."

Seth nodded, and by the time Dean had gone to fetch some blankets from the hallway, he had already fallen fast asleep. Dean gently placed the blankets over him, careful not to wake him. A fond smile was on his face the whole time.

It wasn't very surprising how much Seth had grown on Dean in such a short time. It was rare to find someone as caring as him nowadays, especially for someone who had been through that much at a young age. A lot of teenagers in his position would have gone down a worse path, possibly drugs. Even if Dean hadn't found him, he doubted that Seth would ever do something like that. It just didn't seem like the kind of thing he would choose to do. Though Dean didn't want to think of what _could _have happened if he hadn't noticed Seth on that bench. He would never simply walk past someone clearly in need like that, and yet, what if that's what he had done? He shuddered, and quickly discarded the thought. There was no need to think about things like that when Seth was alive, perhaps not well, but still alive, on Dean's sofa.

Dean was restless, however, the rest of the night. Though he knew Seth would be perfectly okay while he was sleeping, he still didn't like the thought of going upstairs to sleep and so leave Seth downstairs on his own. He probably wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. So he, instead, settled down in an armchair, listening to music on his phone. It wasn't enough to distract him from the thoughts racing through his head.

The one thing he wanted – apart from Seth to find happiness, of course – was to make Randy suffer. As much of a good person Dean was, or at least tried to be, he could also be quite vengeful. That one punch hadn't been enough in the supermarket. He wanted _more. _One punch was barely anything compared to everything Randy had done. Dean didn't even know the full extent of that. But what he did know was enough to make his fists clench as he gritted his teeth angrily. He wanted to pummel Randy to ground, beat him until he begged for mercy before, if Dean was even that merciful, he let him rot in a prison cell.

Just as he started to find satisfaction in imagining several ways he could kill Randy, he heard the front door open and close. He pulled out the earphones in his ears as Roman walked round the doorway, and nodded at Seth.

"We'll go into the kitchen," Dean said quietly when Roman looked at Seth questioningly. The man nodded, and made his way through the hallway to the kitchen, Dean close behind him. He turned around to look at Dean when they were both in the room.

"Why is Seth not in his room? Is he just tired after what happened today?"

"Well, sort of," Dean replied, sitting down on one of the kitchen stools. Roman did the same. "So obviously he was still shaken up after you left for work. Well, while I was shaving in the bathroom, he read a message from Randy. It made him completely worse – I could see why. He thought that the only way after that was… Well, suicide. He cut both of his wrists, but he didn't want me to find him dead. So he went to that bridge a few minutes away. It's lucky I found him in time."

"Holy shit…" Roman said, brushing back his hair. "I'm sorry Dean, if I-"

"There's no need to apologise," Dean interrupted quickly. "You _had _to go to work. One of us has to."

"So I'm guessing that the whole ordeal made him more exhausted?"

"Naturally. I said to him that he could sleep there, if it made it easier for him. He had already fallen asleep by the time I had come back with the blankets."

Dean sighed, placing his head into his hands.

"I want to fucking kill him, Roman, I really do. Or at least hurt him. Immensely."

"Both you and I know that you can't," Roman said calmly. "Not only would you find yourself with a not-so-pleasant prison sentence, Seth probably doesn't want you to do anything like that for him. The only thing you can do for him is do what you've so far; be there for him. Don't do anything more than that."

"I'm not saying that I _will. _I just want to."

"But sometimes you're not very good at resisting doing the things you want to do. I'm your friend, sure, but I'm not going to deny that you've often done things you've regretted because you can't always control your anger. This would be one of those things."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't need to lecture me."

"Apparently I do," Roman sighed, resting his hands on the back of his head. "If it wasn't for me, you would have ended up diving at the man to beat him to a pulp if you came across him in public. I'm making you see sense."

"I _do _see sense. You just put it into wise words for me."

"Exactly," Roman chuckled.

"God, I hate it when you're right."

"I know."

"Can I at least hit him once more? Please? Only if I had to, of course," Dean pleaded, the last sentence rushed.

"No."

"Please?"

"Maybe."

"Come on, Roman, I'm not talking about _killing _the guy! Just about using violence. If I have to."

"If you have to, but that's it."

"Good," Dean said, satisfied. "One bruise wasn't enough. He deserves more than that."

"I can't disagree with that. If anything, though, calling the police would be the best idea."

"I know, I've already considered that. But I don't want to call them if Seth doesn't want me to. If he doesn't want to tell them what's happened, then he doesn't have to. I don't want to pressure him into doing something he doesn't want to do."

Though he didn't exactly know _why _Seth was against the idea of getting the police involved. Randy would be locked way behind bars, unable to harm anyone else, where he belongs. Dean guessed that fear was mainly behind it. Perhaps Seth was convinced that Randy would hurt him if he tried to do anything like that, or even that the police wouldn't listen to him. As much as Dean wanted to go to them, he was sure Seth had his reasons for not wanting to do so himself. He wouldn't ever question Seth's reasons.

"That's perfectly understandable," Roman said, nodding. He chuckled when Dean then yawned loudly. "You need to go to bed yourself."

"But I don't want to leave-"

"Come on, Seth will be fine. You're usually awake before him anyway."

Dean sighed, but didn't bother to protest. This whole ordeal _did _leave him feeling fairly tired himself. But, when he was finally in bed, it took hours for him to actually sleep. This whole situation with Randy and Seth had become the main thing he wanted to solve in his life – if he could say that it was a part of his now. He wasn't just helping Seth out by giving him a place to live, now. He had become so emotionally invested that there was no possible way he could go back without helping Seth completely.

* * *

Seth woke the next morning with a slightly stiff neck. He winced as he sat up, remembering that he had fallen asleep on the couch the previous night. A small smile grew on his face when he noticed the blankets Dean must have covered him with after he fell asleep, though it faltered when he looked down at his bandaged wrists. He thought he had completely lost his mind last night. Randy's text made him feel like he wasn't his own person; he was Randy's property, and that's it. The man had given Seth a place to live when he had no one else to turn to. That was something which had previously made Seth believe that Randy had every right to do what he wished with him.

But if that was true, then why wasn't Dean the same way? It was the same situation; Dean had given Seth a home when he had nowhere else to go. The only difference was that they weren't together. To anyone else, it was obvious that Randy was the person in the wrong, that the reason Dean didn't do anything like Randy was because he was simply a much better person. Seth, however, was only slowly starting to believe this. But, the effect the verbal abuse had on him seemed to be slowly disappearing. It seemed as though, despite what he had done last night, that he was beginning to see that he _did _have a life outside of his trapped months with Randy. Which was why he was able to give Dean a genuine smile when he entered the room, a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Good morning," Dean greeted, returning the smile. It was obvious that he was relieved that Seth had managed to do something so small, yet took so much strength when someone was as hurt as he was. "I wasn't expecting you to be awake as early as you are."

"Well, sofas aren't exactly as comfortable as beds," Seth chuckled.

"That's true," Dean agreed, and sat down next to him after he placed his mug down on the table. "You seem to be feeling a lot better this morning."

"I am, definitely."

"I'm very glad. I was so worried about you last night."

"I'm sorry that-"

"There's no need to apologise," Dean interrupted. "It's completely understandable after all you've been through. I'm just… I'm just so glad I reached you in time. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if your life ended that way."

"It wouldn't have been your fault, though."

"But I would have still felt awful about it. I wouldn't have done what I've wanted to do since I found you, and that's help you."

"I'm so thankful for that, I really am. Helping me, I mean. You've done so much more than you've probably realised."

"I'm glad," Dean smiled. "I'm just happy to see you a whole lot better than last night."

"It's because… Well, I..."

"What is it?"

"Up until now, I haven't properly believed that I am actually a person with their own life. I've had this mindset that because Randy helped me on my birthday and gave me a home, I was basically his and he could do what he liked. I didn't believe that at first, of course, but the amount of times he told me that made me start to believe it over time. It's not until I actually thought it through that I realised he's wrong, I _am _my own person who can live their own life. It's hard, but… I think I'm getting there."

"I'll be with you every step of the way," Dean said. "I can promise you that."

"Thank you. I really am sorry about last night. Seeing Randy and Paul in the store yesterday just really… Well, terrified me. I guess his text made that worst."

"It's understandable, and like I said, there's no need to apologise. So… Paul? That is his friend's name?"

"Yeah, it is. We've… Well, we've met before."

Dean took note of the pause and Seth's tone of voice, and frowned.

"Met?"

"Well..." Seth started, breathing in deeply. He paused for a couple of moments, before his confidence grew a little. He could trust Dean, he knew he could. "Paul came over one day, which was unusual being as they usually saw each other out of their homes. When Randy went out somewhere, Paul thought it was a good opportunity to… Take advantage of the situation. He forced me on my knees and… Yeah, I guess you can imagine what happened next."

"That's awful, absolutely awful," Dean said. Seth could tell that he was angry.

"It was, but it wasn't as bad as the second time. That was much worse. Randy knew that Paul found me sexually attractive, so for his birthday, he decided that he might as well let me be his 'present'. I couldn't do anything about it; I was blindfolded, my hands were handcuffed, and even if they weren't I still wouldn't have been able to get away without being stopped by two men much larger than me. That was the first and luckily the only time I had been raped by one of his friends."

It took so much bravery to admit this to Dean, but somehow, admitting it was a relief.

"Oh God Seth, I'm so, so sorry. You don't deserve any of that, you really don't… I had no idea anything liked that happened."

His frown deepened when he thought over what Seth had said.

"By one of his friends? You don't mean that..."

"He's raped me too," Seth said quietly. "Numerous times."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel worse or anything."

"No, it's okay, I think it's helping me to talk about things that have happened. I guess it makes me feel better that it's in the past and that I can move on from it eventually."

Dean nodded in understanding.

"If it helps you to talk, then I don't mind if you continue."

Seth smiled, slightly nervously, and inhaled deeply before he spoke.

* * *

"_Randy, I'm home," Seth called as he placed his school bag down onto the table before sitting down himself on one of the chairs. He buried his head into his hands for a moment, exhausted after the day. There were some days where his classmates liked to say or do more than simply calling him a 'fag'. Those days were ones he feared, ones which left him in a very negative mood. But he had to raise his head out from his hands after a few moments. His hands pressed against the bruise on his cheek weren't helping with ignoring the pain of it. But it was fine; Randy just had one of his mood swings. It would heal. It always does._

_He wasn't sure why Randy hadn't come into the lounge yet, but merely shrugged and pulled his school books out of his bag with a sigh. That was when he heard a call from the bedroom._

"_Seth, come here for a second. I want to see you."_

_Seth, of course, slid out of the chair and immediately made his way to the room. Randy was sitting on the edge of the bed, and grinned when he saw Seth._

"_What is it?" Seth asked. Randy's grin grew as he pushed himself off the bed and made his way towards Seth._

"_Like I said, I wanted to see you," he said. He closed the gap between them by placing his lips onto Seth's. It was immediately forceful, with Randy's tongue slipping easily between Seth's parted lips. It was something he sometimes enjoyed; but not today. He just wanted to talk about his day, seek comfort. But comfort seemed to be the last thing on Randy's mind these days._

"_R-Randy, I..." Seth panted when Randy finally pulled away._

"_Yeah?" Randy asked, before he started to trail kisses down Seth's neck._

"_I just- Ah!" he gasped when Randy nibbled at the tip of his collarbone. He placed his hands on Randy's shoulders and pushed him away slightly. "Randy, I'm not up for this today. I'm sorry."_

"_Of course you're in the mood," Randy said, his hands trailing down Seth's body. "You always are."_

"_I'm really not Randy, I-"_

"_Oh come on, stop being so boring."_

_Randy's hands gripped on either side of Seth's waist, turned him round and pushed him onto the bed. He quickly slithered on top of him, his lust-filled eyes staring into Seth's as one of his hands grabbed Seth's crotch._

"_See, that there is telling me a different story."_

_Before Seth could mention that his arousal wasn't his consent, before he could even say a word, Randy was unbuckling his belt. He pulled his trousers down before reaching for Seth's own pair. He grabbed Randy's wrists just as his trousers were also pulled down._

"_I said no, Randy. I don't want this."_

"_For fuck's sake, shut up! You live with me, I look after you so if I want this, you do too, alright? Stop being so whiny and just fucking them me have my fun."_

_Seth gulped and didn't say another word. His eyes squeezed shut and his hands clutched the bed sheets until his knuckles turned white as Randy slid into him. With each relentless thrust Seth tried to remember what Randy had said, that he was able to do what he liked after all he had done for him. But as a tear escaped his eye, he realised that this wasn't just sex. It was rape. _

_Randy acted as though nothing wrong had just happened when they were finished, and their night carried on normally. But Seth knew that it _was _wrong. He just didn't know if it mattered._

* * *

"That was the first time. There's been others, but the rest seem to blur together now. That memory will always be just as vivid as it was months ago."

"I… I don't know what to say. No one ever deserves to be treated like that, especially not someone as kind as you," Dean said quietly. "I couldn't be more glad that you left there, Seth. You deserve a much better life than that."

"I didn't believe that at first," Seth admitted. "But now… But now I _am _starting to believe it. I wouldn't have felt this much better without you. I'm so grateful for what you've done for me."

Then Seth did something Dean didn't expect. Seth reached closer to him and wrapped his arms around Dean's neck. It was just a hug. It was what other people saw as something small, something which everyone did. But while Dean had hugged Seth before, Seth had never been the one to hug him first. He had never been able to bring himself to do that. But now here he was, his arms wrapped around Dean who was quick to wrap his own arms around Seth's waist.

"Hey, don't cry," he said when he heard a muffled sob into his shoulder.

"I don't know whether I'm crying out of happiness or sadness," Seth laughed. He pulled away softly, wiping his eyes. "I'm sorry, I got your t-shirt wet."

"Nah, it's fine."

Seth simply laughed again, and was smiling at Dean for several moments before he spoke again.

"Thank you."

* * *

**A/N: **It's pretty late now... Damn me thinking that updating a fanfic can't wait a day after I've finished it! But at least it's updated now. I'm actually pretty glad with how it came out.

Thanks again for the reviews and everything! I'm so glad that people are enjoying this and the amount of positivity I have received has really been cheering me up. I really do appreciate it.

Until next time! Probably in a few weeks because you know how bad I can be at updating quickly.


	6. Bravery

**A/N: **I really need to learn to be motivated more often and not just have random bursts of it every few weeks. I was literally only at about 1,600 words when I came back to this today... Now here is the finished chapter.

Saying that, I WAS back down with my girlfriend for a few nights again, and my health has been a bit worse than usual for a couple of days as viruses never mix well with it. So I guess I've done okay considering.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**I'll Save You**

**Chapter Six - Bravery**

* * *

Whether he was faking it or not, Seth's positivity and confidence seemed to grow over the next week. Perhaps slowly, but still, it grew. That was more than anyone could ask for. It seemed like something impossible after everything that happened that day. It's unbelievable that someone could change from thinking that suicide is the only answer to someone, whether it was forced or not, who was smiling. Just having the willpower to smile was something which could be seen as impressive.

It would be something to be proud of even if it was fake, for it takes strength for a person in pain to smile, but what was incredible was how it seemed real.

He was starting to speak again, not just when he was spoken to. There is a difference between simply answering other's questions and starting a conversation yourself. Speaking even when you are not spoken too takes more courage than merely responding to another person's words. Though after everything that happened, even mere answers would have been somewhat impressive. Seth's building confidence was unexpected. Or, at least, the speed that it was growing was.

There were still moments where he felt nervous, or when he would flinch when someone moved near him, but that was understandable. Neither Dean nor Roman expected Seth to change overnight. Just by how he was improving over the space of merely a week was more than they could ask for. Even Daniel, when he came round to visit, mentioned to Dean and Roman that Seth seemed to be more confident than when they had first met. Last time, Seth hadn't said one word. But this time, though he was a little anxious about it at first, joined their conversation and soon realised that he and Daniel got on well together.

Kaitlyn also visited during the week. Her friendly and confident attitude helped to increase the already positive atmosphere in the house even further. She seemed to grow fond of Seth quickly. It was when Roman and Dean were in the kitchen making coffee that the two spoke properly.

"Dean really likes you, you know," she said, leaning back against the sofa with her hands behind her head. "He's protective, but it's in a good way. It's nice to see."

"Roman seems to be a little similar to you. Maybe not protective, but he definitely cares a lot about you," Seth smiled.

"Yeah, I know he does. He and I actually dated for a little while in high school, but it didn't really last."

"You sound like you're a little disappointed about that. Have you missed him?"

"I definitely have. It would be great to try it again, really. Don't tell him I told you that, though! Don't tell Dean, either. Those two are like young teenage girls sometimes."

"I've already noticed that," Seth laughed. Dean and Roman had such an incredibly close friendship, one which anyone would wish for. But sometimes, the way they argued and talked about certain things _did _make them sound like teenage girls.

"They're joined at the hip, seriously. You could hardly ever separate them in school. Sure, they talked to other people, mainly Daniel, me and a few other people. But sometimes it was like they were in a world of their own. Dean wasn't ever the third wheel when it came to me and Roman – it was always me with those two!"

"I can see why."

"Hopefully they're not like that with you."

"Oh no, I never feel left out around them," Seth said quickly. It wasn't a lie – even if Seth wasn't a part of Dean and Roman's conversation, he was perfectly happy being around to simply listen. Though was often included with their conversations, especially now he was starting to feel completely comfortable around them. He was starting to become closer to Roman as well as Dean, but the latter was the person Seth still, naturally, felt the happiest to be around. He couldn't have been more relieved that it was someone as kind and considerate as Dean who had found him. But that wasn't just the only thing which was a relief; it was also that the two had become friends so easily. With any other person who might have been kind enough to let him stay, it might not have been as easy to get along. But Dean – which both Roman and Kaitlyn also could see – was different than that. It was obvious how much he cared for Seth.

"That's good," Kaitlyn grinned. "I wouldn't want things to be awkward for you while you stay here."

"It's not awkward at all. I feel more at home here than I did in my own home."

"I'm glad, but I personally can't see how you put up with them as well as you do," she joked, winking.

"I feel insulted, Kaitlyn. I thought you liked me more than that," Roman chuckled as he walked into the room, a cup of coffee in his hand. Dean followed him from behind.

"You wish," Kaitlyn smirked.

"It's like you haven't changed at all since school," Dean commented, sitting down on the sofa next to Seth and Kaitlyn.

"I feel the same way about you two."

"We're not that bad."

"No, you are. Trust me," Kaitlyn said, before pushing herself up off the couch. "I should get going now. Paige wants me to go to the mall with her to help find a good birthday present for AJ. If I remember rightly, she said she wanted something which was 'nice', but not 'too bloody romantic, I'm not that sappy.'"

"I _knew _those two were together," Roman chuckled. "Come on, I'll walk you to the door."

Barely after the two of them left the room, Dean had turned to Seth, smirking.

"Roman clearly has the hots again for Kaitlyn," he said, leaning back on the sofa. "I could tell from miles away."

"You really think so?" Seth questioned.

"Of course. She probably feels the same way about him. It's just a case of them being too scared to admit it to each other."

"They'll probably get together soon enough, if they both feel that way."

"Did Kaitlyn say anything to you about it?"

"...Maybe."

"I can tell that she did," Dean chuckled. "She probably told you not to tell either of us, right?"

"She did."

"That's because she thinks that I would tell Roman straight away. But it's fine, my lips are sealed."

When Roman returned, he raised an eyebrow at Dean and Seth grinning at him.

"Were you two talking about me?"

"Of course not, what makes you think that?"

"Just the way you're looking at me."

"Well, it's me and Seth's little secret," he winked. Seth laughed when Roman sighed deeply.

"If it's about Kaitlyn and I, then you should know that I don't-"

"Yes, yes you do. You can't lie to me, Roman."

"You're right, I can't."

"So go on, she stopped to talk on the phone," Dean said, nodding in the direction of the window. Through it, they could see Kaitlyn sitting on a bench by the sidewalk, just about to end the phone call. "Before she goes and meets AJ, ask her out for a drink or something."

"But I can't-"

"Yes, you can. Go on, now is your chance."

Roman hesitated, before he nodded with a wide smile.

"Thanks, man, I appreciate it," he said, before rushing out of the room and out of the house to catch up to Kaitlyn. Dean chuckled, his eyes landing back on Seth.

"That, Seth, is how one plays their role as Cupid," he said, winking.

* * *

The highly positive atmosphere stayed for several more days. It was only when Seth was asked one question that the situation was a little tense.

"It's been a while since you were last out of the house..." Dean had started. "Would you like to come out with Roman and I while we go shopping? Kaitlyn will probably be coming along, too."

Seth's body shuddered when he thought about the last time he had dared to leave. It was the same thing – going out with Dean and Roman while they shopped for groceries. He could hardly believe that he was unlucky enough to come face-to-face with the man who he had been avoiding all these weeks during the one time he had plucked up the courage to go outside. But, he knew that he couldn't allow this past unfortunate event to stop him from leaving the house again, no matter how shaken he had been. How on Earth was he going to move on with his life and prove to himself that Randy isn't in control of him if he didn't?

"I'll come with you. I can't keep staying in the house, even after what happened. I'm not going to get any better that way."

Dean was apparently surprised at that answer. He personally believed that Seth had gotten better even inside the house – Seth probably thought that, too – but he knew that leaving the house once again and facing his fears would do him even more good. And so, he nodded with a smile.

"Come on, then. I told the two of them I'd meet them by the restaurant they went to for lunch. It's on the way to the shops."

The two males grabbed their jackets in the hallway, put on their shoes and left the house. Both of their eyes narrowed when the sun hit them.

"Well, you can certainly tell it's not winter anymore," Dean chuckled.

There was a silence while the two of them walked down the street, though it was comfortable rather than awkward. After a few minutes, however, Seth's previous confidence was beginning to rapidly turn into nervousness. Dean noticed this, and squeezed Seth's hand gently to show his support.

"It's gonna be alright, Seth. Don't worry."

After another couple of minutes, they were met with waves from both Roman and Kaitlyn. Both of them smiled, though their smiles were mainly directed at Seth. They both seemed proud to see him out of the house, and didn't need to voice this. Though Kaitlyn was still not completely informed about everything to do with Randy – Dean was still the person who knew the most – she had already put two and two together and realised that the man she had seen act so threateningly towards Seth in the supermarket was someone he was trying to avoid at all costs.

Seth's nerves were slowly starting to disappear, however, when they were in the process of shopping. Kaitlyn was such a friendly woman and though he was fine with just Roman and Dean's company, she always made times seem brighter. Her and Roman's occasional flirting always led to continuous jokes from Dean, which led to Roman and Kaitlyn's faces going bright red, and tears forming in Seth's eyes as he clutched his stomach from laughter.

By the time the four of them had exited the supermarket, Seth had completely forgotten about his previous worries. That was until, however, he saw a certain figure further down the street. His back was turned, but the tattoos he could make out on the man's arms – one of which was around the shoulders of a blonde girl – were unmistakeable. It's hard to forget the tattoos on the arms of someone whose hands often gripped your throat.

"Seth, you alright?" Dean said when he noticed he stopped walking. His gaze followed Seth's, and his eyes narrowed. He quickly grabbed Seth's hand in an attempt to pull him away – as much as he would have _loved _to punch Randy's face again, he knew that another confrontation wouldn't be good for Seth. "Let's go, before he sees you."

"No, I can't-"

"What's the matter?" Roman said as he and Kaitlyn walked back towards them.

"It's Randy further down the street," said Dean.

"Oh shit, we should-"

"No, I'm not going," Seth said, looking back at Randy and the girl. "I can't let her get hurt… If he is treating her like he treated me, it won't be long until she's as broken as I am- _was. _I can't let that happen."

He pulled out of Dean's grasp and quickly walked away before either of them could react in time.

"Seth, wait!" Dean shouted, but by the time he had caught up to Seth, Randy had already turned at the sound of the shout. "Seth, listen to me-"

"Well, I hadn't expected you to be out again so soon," Randy laughed as he stepped forward, stopping when he was stood in front of Seth and Dean, the girl stood by his side. "I thought you would still be cowering in this guy's place like the pathetic little thing you are."

"You fucking bastard," Dean growled, his fists clenching, though Seth didn't seem to be listening to Randy's words. He was, instead, focused on the girl next to him.

"Emma?"

"Seth?" the blonde said, looking shocked.

"Wait, I know you," Dean said. "Your Paige's friend. How do you know Seth?"

"We were in the same art class before he left."

"Emma, listen, this man-"

Seth stopped when he noticed a bruise on the side of her face, mostly covered by her long hair. Any fear that he had previously was replaced by anger.

"And what were you about to say?" Randy questioned, his eyebrow raised.

"You can't stay with him," Seth said, avoiding Randy's eyes and instead kept his gaze on the girl. "You're only going to get more hurt. Trust me, I know."

"Fucking hell, Seth, you're making me seem like such a bad person. She only got that bruise from falling down the stairs."

"Bullshit," Dean spat.

"And now you need a guy to help you fight your battles for you," Randy smirked. "Also, what exactly are those on your wrists?"

Seth quickly tried to roll the sleeves of his hooded top down, but Randy swiftly removed his arm from Emma's shoulders to grab one of Seth's wrists before he had the chance to do so.

"Well, isn't this all too familiar?" Randy chuckled, stroking across the healing cuts with one finger. "So you tried to kill yourself again, huh? Guess you seeing Paul and I got to you worst than I thought. Jesus Christ, Seth, at least try to do _something _right..."

Randy didn't have the chance to say much more before, once again, Dean's fist met his cheek. He didn't just stop there, however. He dug his knee straight into Randy's stomach, and when the man fell to his knees, he was pushed to the floor. Dean climbed on top of him, his fists pounding into him in between his shouts.

"You have no right to treat anyone this way! You're fucking going to pay for everything you've done to him, do you hear me? You're going to get _exactly _what you deserve!"

"Dean, that's enough!" Roman shouted from behind them. He grabbed onto Dean's shoulders and pulled him off Randy. Even with his muscles, it was difficult for him to, and it was only Kaitlyn's assistance that allowed him to manage it. Both of them had to hold him back for a few moments – it was clear that Dean was so angry, if he was let go, they probably wouldn't be able to stop him a second time.

Randy was now struggling to push himself to his knees. Seth was frozen to the spot for a moment, far too stunned at the sight of Randy, the man he had assaulted by many times, so beaten. He was glad that Dean had stopped, but then there was a small part of him which felt somewhat satisfied to see Randy like this, though he quickly felt guilty about that satisfaction.

"You fucking brat," Randy spat, wiping blood away from his mouth. "Getting your boyfriend to hit me because you can't do it yourself."

"Actually, I'm not his boyfriend," Dean said, a little calmer than he was a moment ago. "And he didn't get me to hit you. I just wanted to do that myself."

"I'll get you thrown behind bars for this!"

"Try it."

"Come on, Dean, that's enough," Roman murmured. He was about to help Randy off the ground, but his hand was pushed away. The man stumbled to his feet, glaring at Dean.

"You'll pay for this."

His eyes then turned to Emma, who had been watching them silently.

"Are you coming, or what?"

"No," she said. Her voice shook a little, but her gaze on him was firm. "I don't want to be treated badly anymore. These last couple of days have been awful for me, and I don't deserve it. I never want to see you again."

Randy's eyes narrowed further, though he left without another word. Emma looked at the others, smiling.

"Thank you… I probably wouldn't have had the courage to stand up to him myself."

"Would you like us to escort you home?" Roman asked.

"No, that's okay. I was going to see Paige soon anyway; I'll call her."

Roman nodded, and after another thank you and farewells, Dean, Seth, Roman and Kaitlyn began to make their way back. Dean's anger hadn't even settled fully by the time they arrived at the house. He slumped down onto the sofa, sighing. While Roman and Kaitlyn went to the kitchen to make coffee, Seth sat down next to Dean.

"I couldn't stand him speaking to you like that," Dean said. "It was awful. He's one of the most vile people I've ever met. I couldn't just sit back and let him treat you like that."

"I understand why you hurt him," Seth replied. "You don't need to explain yourself."

"What you did was brave, though. Going up to him like that, all so you could help that girl. Honestly, if that isn't courage, I don't know what is. You faced your fears so someone else didn't have to live the life you did. You should be proud of that, Seth, you really should."

Now that he thought about it, he _was _surprised that he had managed to do what he did. But the last thing he wanted was to see another person be hurt the way he did – especially someone he knew. He was willing to face the person he was the most terrified of to help someone else.

And that was definitely something he could be proud of.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks so much for all of your reviews for this story. I'm so grateful for all of the positivity I have received! Each time I update I think to myself that the chapter is a disappointment, or that people are getting more and more impatient with me, but you always prove that wrong in your reviews. I appreciate that so much.

I think there are only going to be a few more chapters now. I'm not fully sure exactly how many, but I was aiming to make this about the same amount of chapters as Hostage, so it probably won't be that long until the end (well, by that I mean the chapters, not actual time as we all know how long I can take to update). I do apologise if that is a disappointment for anyone, but like I mentioned in Hostage, unless I have an idea I know for certain I can keep motivated with for many chapters, I don't like to make stories too long as I tend to lose motivation for it and end up rushing.

But anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	7. Reported

**A/N: **This is possibly the fastest update so far for this story. I'm actually a little surprised with myself!

The next chapter will be the last, I'm afraid. I'd rather end it now rather than let it drag on while I struggle for ideas, which I think is understandable enough.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**I'll Save You**

**Chapter Seven - Reported**

* * *

Emma, after being given the address by Paige, visited Dean, Roman and Seth the following day. She greeted them with a wide smile, and they could tell from simply the way she was stood that she was feeling much happier in herself than the previous day.

"I just wanted to say thank you for your help yesterday," she started when she was invited inside. "I really wouldn't have had the courage to leave him myself if it hadn't been for you."

"I just wish that you could have left him before he hurt you," Roman said, his eyes flickering to her bruise for a moment.

"I'm just grateful that I'm not with him anymore," she said.

"How long were you in a relationship with him?" Seth asked, silently hoping that it was a short period of time and that the bruise was the only injury she had been inflicted with.

"Only around a week. He started getting really angry with me a few days after we were together."

"That's a lot sooner than how long it took him to snap when it came to me," Seth said. "He must really not be able to control his anger issues anymore."

"So he's the reason you left school?" she asked, and sighed when Seth nodded. "That's awful, I'm so sorry. It must have been horrible if you had to leave school because of him."

"It was. I'm just glad that you don't have to go through everything I did, though."

"That was really brave, you know," she smiled. "I mean, it would have been brave for _anyone _to stand up to someone like that. But how you stood up to someone who hurt you so you can protect someone else… That's just amazing. So thank you, Seth."

"It's not a problem," Seth replied, returning the smile.

"I think I should go to the police. He's only just going to find someone else to unleash his anger on if I don't. You should come with me. You were with him longer; it'll help."

That made Seth's heart stop in his chest. Reporting Randy's actions to the police was something which he still hadn't found the confidence to do. While the thought didn't paralyse him with fear like it used to, it still scared him.

"I… I don't know..."

"Why are you so unsure about it?"

"It's just… I'm scared that if I went to the police, they'd just laugh at me," Seth admitted, a little surprised that he was saying this out loud for the first time. "I mean, guys sometimes aren't taken seriously when it comes to abusive relationships. And they'll start to question why I didn't leave him sooner, or why I didn't go to them sooner. I guess I'm just too nervous about how they might react."

"That's completely understandable," Emma said. "But I do feel like it is the best thing for us to do. He deserves it, after all. Don't worry, though; if you're not ready to, you don't have to. We can just wait until you're ready."

"Thank you, Emma," Seth smiled. "I appreciate that."

"It's not a problem. I better get going now, if that's alright. I only stopped by here on my way to see a friend."

Seth nodded and after saying goodbye, he, Dean and Roman smiled and wave as she walked down the path. Seth knew that she was right. If Randy was still out there on the streets – with most likely a broken nose, but still, out there – then he was perfectly free to do whatever he liked to anyone else. There were only a couple of other people who saw the event between them, and they weren't likely to go to the police themselves considering they wouldn't have been completely sure what Randy's name was, never mind about the situation. After seeing the bruise on Emma's face, Seth realised how much the thought of Randy hurting anyone else terrified him. It also made him start questioning whether he was the first victim or not. Did Randy's short temper start with him, or had he been like that before? But then he remembered how sweet Randy had been to start with, and doubted it. It seemed as though it was more likely that Emma was, hopefully at least, the only other victim. This made him relax a little, but he still despised the thought of both Emma being hurt, even if it was just that once compared to the countless times Seth had been beaten, and the knowledge that Randy could easily do this again.

He just had to hope that he'd manage to pluck up the courage to report everything.

* * *

It was around one in the morning when Seth slid out of bed. He had been awake for the last couple of hours, with no success in falling asleep. After simply lying there, waiting for sleep to come to him, he decided on going downstairs to get a glass of water. He wasn't even that thirsty – it was mainly something for him to do.

His footsteps were quiet as he made his way down the stairs and through the hallway to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and held it under the tap to fill it with water. It almost slipped out of his hand when there was a voice behind him.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Seth turned to see Dean standing there, leaning against the kitchen doorway. His face began to heat up when he saw that Dean was merely wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms, allowing his well-kept upper body to show. Seth had only seen him topless once in the time he had stayed there. Trying to avoid looking at the man's muscles, he quickly looked up at Dean's face.

"Yeah, a bit," he said after clearing his throat.

"Same here," Dean said, making his way over to the sink to get his own glass of water. "It's been pretty hectic recently, hasn't it?"

"Definitely," Seth chuckled.

"I do think Emma had a point today," Dean said, turning to face Seth after he filled his glass. "I don't mean to push you or anything like that. I'd never do that. But if both her and you go, whether it's together or separately, then they'll make more of an effort to throw him behind bars where he belongs, and for longer, too. He deserves at least that."

"I know, I agree completely, but..."

He paused, sighing. He took a sip of his water before he continued to speak.

"But I seriously am worried about going. It's what I said before; I'm scared about how they would react. It's like with the… With the rape, for example. There isn't just sexism to girls; there's sexism with guys, too. If a guy is drugged and raped by a girl, then he can be seen as weak and even get laughed at. If a guy is raped by another guy, then he's seen as less of a man. So I'm worried that if I went, they'd treat me like that. They'd probably also put part of the blame on me, what with me getting in a relationship with someone older than me when I was fifteen. It _was _stupid of me, I know. I was far too naive then. Maybe everything that happened with Randy was the inevitable."

"No, that's not true," Dean argued, though his voice was soft. He put his glass of water down on the kitchen counter, and instead placed it onto Seth's shoulder. "It doesn't matter whether you were young or not. What Randy's done is entirely his fault, not yours. I won't let _anyone _try to put the blame on you, because not one bit of it is your fault. If the police tried to say anything like that or not take you seriously then I will go to them myself and won't back down until something is done."

His other hand gently brushed away the few strands of hair falling into Seth's eyes as he spoke again.

"I'll be with you every step of the way, Seth. I'm not going anywhere."

They were both silent for a few moments after that. Dean was looking into Seth's eyes, appearing as though he was contemplating something. However, he removed his hand from Seth's shoulder and picked up his glass of water, nodding towards the doorway.

"We should get back to bed now. But remember, Seth, if it's too much pressure for you to go to the police, then you don't have to. I'm not forcing you to do anything that you don't want to do.

"No, I'll go," Seth said, almost surprising himself with those words.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's for the best, right? Even if I'm nervous about going to them I still need to report everything that happened."

Dean nodded, a smile growing on his face.

"I'll go with you. I'm sure Emma would want to come with you as well, rather than on her own."

The two of them began to make their way back to their rooms. Both paused at each of their doors, turning back round to face each other.

"Night, Seth. Sleep well."

"Goodnight," Seth whispered back. Moments later, he was lying back in bed, and this time, it didn't take him very long at all to fall back to sleep.

* * *

It was clear that Seth was nervous just by the look on his face, though it was the shaking Dean could feel as he sat next to him that made him take Seth's hand in support and give it a small squeeze. Emma sat on the other side of Seth, and though her nerves weren't equal to his, it was easy to tell that she was somewhat nervous herself. The two of them reported what Randy had done, and were now both waiting to be questioned. Seth was surprised that there was no convincing, especially when it came to allowing Dean to stay there, too. He merely said that he was there for support, and they understood. Though Seth was still naturally nervous, he had calmed down a fair amount since they entered the police station.

A friendly-looking woman with blonde hair entered the room shortly after they were instructed to wait there. She greeted the three of them with a smile, which only made Seth feel even more relaxed.

"Good afternoon. My name is Renee Young," she said, shaking each of their hands before she settled into the chair on the other side of the desk. "Before I ask any questions, I would first like to say that thank you for coming to us to report this. The sooner we can arrest someone this capable of dealing harm, the better. There's no need to be afraid; we are not going to judge you or anything like that. If you also need to have a break while speaking about this, that's fine. We want you to be as comfortable as possible."

She opened a small notepad which was laid down on the desk in front of her and took a pen out of her pocket before she began to speak again.

"Right, so I'd first like to question you, Seth, if that's alright. I believe that you were in a relationship with Orton a lot longer than Emma?"

"Yeah, that's right," Seth nodded. "I was with him for around a year."

"How long was it until you were living together?"

"Only around three months. We became a couple in February, and on my 16th birthday in May, I confessed that I was gay to my family. My dad said I couldn't live there anymore, and I didn't know where else I could go apart from Randy's. He let me live with him from then on."

"But he changed?"

"Yeah, he did. He was really supportive and caring before I lived there, and for a little while after I was living with him, too. But about a month or so later he started getting angry with me over everything, until one day, he just snapped and slapped me across the face. He said he was sorry, and at first, I believed that he did truly feel guilty. But then it soon started to become a common thing for him to unleash his anger on me. I had to leave school by that point being as I was in too much pain for it on some days, and I didn't want them questioning where my bruises were coming from."

"Did he abuse you in any other way apart from being physical?"

"Yeah, he was also verbally and sexually abusive. I can't quite recall how many times, it's all a blur, really..."

"It's okay, Seth," Renee smiled, her voice and her expression soft. "Take your time. It's normal for this to be hard for you."

Seth nodded, and took a moment to calm himself down before he continued.

"I think he raped me around eight times in total, during the time I was living with him."

"And how long were you living with him for?"

"For around nine months. I left in the February of this year."

"That's when he moved in with me," Dean said.

"Did you both know each other beforehand?"

"No, we didn't," Dean shook his head. "I saw him on a bench while I was on my way to meet my two friends at the pub. I cancelled my plans with them so I could take Seth home after finding out he had nowhere else to go. I knew he had been hurt, and I didn't want him to go back there."

"That is very noble of you," Renee smiled. "That's all I have to ask you, Seth. I'll have to, however, contact your parents. Though you were indeed old enough to leave home, they shouldn't have made you leave without questioning if you had somewhere safe to stay."

Seth nodded in understanding. He had already expected that his parents would have to be contacted, so he wasn't very surprised at that.

"How long were you with Orton, Emma?" Renee then asked, her gaze shifting to the other girl.

"Only about a week," Emma replied. "He lost his temper with me six days after we were together, and hit me across the face. I probably wouldn't have had the courage to leave him myself if I hadn't had Seth come up to me the next day when he saw us in the street, telling me I should leave him. I'm grateful for that."

Renee nodded before she placed her pen back inside her pocket and stood up, grabbing her notepad as she did so.

"That's all I need from you. Thank you very much for your time. I promise you that we will have Orton in custody in no time at all."

She shook their hands once more, before guiding them to the door. Seth couldn't hold in a sigh of relief once they were stood outside the room, and Dean grinned at him.

"See, I told you it'll be fine."

"You were right," Seth smiled. "We still have court to go through yet, but I'm not as scared about it as I was before. I guess it was the questioning that was worrying me the most."

"Well, I can tell that you're more comfortable now than you were before by how much looser you're holding my hand."

Seth's cheeks flushed when he realised that their hands were, in fact, still linked. Dean laughed as Seth quickly let go, trying to avoid looking at Dean's eyes.

"S-Sorry, I completely forgot..."

"Don't worry about it," Dean chuckled, and placed his arm around Seth's shoulders before they walked out of the building. Emma walked behind them both, a grin on her face the whole time.

* * *

Dean greeted Roman with a smile as the man sat down next to him on the sofa, which was naturally returned.

"Did Seth go to bed early?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, he did," Dean replied. "I guess he was a bit tired after today and such. I don't really blame him."

"I'm glad that it went well today, especially after how worried he was."

"As am I."

The two were silent for a couple of minutes, though it was broken by Roman chuckling. Dean raised an eyebrow and looked at him with curiosity.

"What are you laughing about?"

"I'm just wondering how long it's going to take for you to admit that you have feelings for Seth."

"And what makes you think I have feelings for him?"

"Dean, it's obvious," he grinned. "Emma could tell and she barely knows you. You're not the only one who can see these things, you know. So I'm going to give you your own advice and say just tell him already."

"I can't do that."

"And why exactly can't you?"

"Because he's only just gotten out of an abusive relationship, that's why," Dean sighed. "I can't really expect him to be ready for another one only a month after getting away from something as awful as that."

"Maybe if you were someone he couldn't trust, you couldn't expect him to say yes. But he trusts you a lot, Dean, he really does. He cares about you, too. Honestly, it'd probably be the best thing for him. You're the perfect person to show him what a relationship is actually like, rather than what he's experienced in one."

"I suppose you do have a point."

"I'm always right about these things," Roman chuckled, before he slid off the sofa. "Besides, he's bound to not say no anyway, considering how much he likes you. Trust me."

Before Dean could say anything else, Roman had walked out of the room. Perhaps he didn't need to say anything. Roman, as he always did, had a point. The man had always been such a good friend to Dean, and his advice was never wrong. Dean knew he could him about this.

Besides, he wouldn't ever leave Dean alone until he finally confessed to Seth that his feelings had, in fact, developed romantically.

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**A/N: **It feels strange that this story will be ending so soon. It feels like I haven't been writing it that long at all, even though when it will be finished, it will only have one less chapter than Hostage.

But anyway, I shall say more in the next update. As usual, thank you for all of your reviews, they really help encourage me to write! And also, thank you for reading. I doubt the next update will be as soon as this one, but we can always hope, right?


	8. Happiness

**A/N: **I decided that I shouldn't make this any longer than I have made it as it is the ending and I didn't want to overdo it. Apologies if this is a disappointment, but I thought it would sound much better this way!

The author's note at the end will be longer, as I shall just let you read the story, now. Enjoy!

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**I'll Save You**

**Chapter Eight - Happiness**

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_Randall Orton, aged twenty, was arrested earlier this week after being reported for multiple cases of physical and sexual abuse by two brave individuals; Seth Rollins, aged sixteen, and Emma Dashwood, who has just turned seventeen. The police immediately went to Orton's apartment after being given the address, where they made a successful arrest. _

_When sent to court, the man did not try to deny his actions, and pleaded guilty to at least eight counts of rape, and countless times of physical assault. He has been given a minimum of twelve years imprisonment and is strictly forbidden to come into contact with either teenagers. His friend, Paul Levesque, was also given four years imprisonment for being involved in one count of rape._

"_You completely took advantage of a young boy's struggles with his problems at home for your own personal pleasure, and even went on to try to do the same thing again to a girl. Your actions are unforgivable," the judge had commented. Indeed, they were unforgivable. Seth Rollins was just fifteen when he and Orton first met. It was on his sixteenth birthday when he was kicked out of his own home and had no other choice but to go to his partner's home. His parents had been contacted, and both stated that they had no clue that Seth was in a relationship. They thought that their son would go and live with a friend._

"_If we had known any of this would have happened, we would have never asked him to leave," his father had said. "I truly thought he would be safe."_

_However, Mr and Mrs Rollins weren't successful in their pleads for their son to return home._

"_No parents should make their son leave home if they aren't completely sure that they would be safe and away from harm," Seth said when we asked him about this. "If I didn't have Randy, my life would have still been made a nightmare – I'd be homeless. That's why I can't forgive them just yet."_

_The abuse lasted for a devastating nine months before Seth finally plucked up the courage to leave. Packing just a few belongings, he fled Orton's apartment once the man, after kicking Seth in the stomach multiple times out of anger, left. After having no contact with family, however, Seth didn't know where to go. Luck was on his side, however, when he was approached by twenty-year-old Dean Ambrose, his current partner, who was on his way to see his friends._

"_I could never just walk by someone who clearly needs help," Dean had told us. "He was sitting on a bench when I saw him. Blood was running down from his lips, and there was a large bruise on his face. It was clear that someone had hurt him. I couldn't just let him go back to whoever it was who was hurting him, so I let him stay with me and my friend Roman. He still lives with me now, but I don't mind that at all. It wouldn't be the same not having him there any more."_

"_Dean's made a lot of mistakes in his life, but he's still a great guy," Roman said when we asked him about this. "If he had walked by Seth that day, he would regret it for the rest of his life. I personally don't mind either that Seth lives with us. He's one of the most caring people I've met. He's not just Dean's companion – he's mine, too. I count him as one of my closest friends, even though we've only known each other for just over a month. It's hard not to love a guy like him. I could never forgive Orton, or even his parents, for treating such a pure person like they did. So I have, and will continue, to treat Seth the way he deserves. I know that Dean will too. Both he and I will show Seth what love truly is."_

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After ten minutes of standing in bliss under the hot water showering over him, Seth turned the shower off and stepped out of it. He grabbed a towel off the rack by his side and began to dry his body. His eyes flickered over at the mirror after he had pulled on his boxers and slim jeans, and when he saw his reflection, stopped for a moment. A smile grew on his face when he realised how much he had changed for the better over the last month and a half.

He remembered the first time he had looked at himself in this mirror. Bruises were inflicted on his face, neck and torso; his ribs were painfully obvious to see; his eyes were dull and had dark circles under them. You would hardly believe that the reflection of Seth back then was the same person. Now, his body was clear of bruises and looked so much healthier. His stomach had slowly gotten adjusted to eating normally again over the weeks he had been living with Dean and Roman, and he had managed to bring himself back up to a healthy weight. He had even managed to start exercising again, for the first time in almost a year. He was hardly able to recall the last time he was able to see muscle rather than bone in his body.

Dean's confession came as a surprise. The same day he had gone to the police, he had been sat down by Dean once they returned home, and wasn't expecting the man to say what he did.

"_I've been putting off saying this for the last couple of weeks, not because I am scared to admit how I feel, but because after everything you've been through, I doubted that it was something you'd want to hear. You've come so far, though, and I'm hoping that the time is right. Seth, you mean so much to me. We haven't even known each other for a huge amount of time – and yet, it's hard to imagine my life without you. What I'm trying to say is… Well, Seth, I have feelings for you. I want to show you what a true relationship is like. That is, if you feel the same way. If you don't, I understand, especially after what happened with Randy. But I would be very happy if you did."_

_Seth was unable to say anything for a moment, too shocked by what Dean had just confessed. It had caught him completely off guard. The last thing he expected was Dean to have romantic feelings for him. _

_But, it also made him happy. He had been questioning his own feelings towards Dean for a while. He felt a connection between them; nothing like how he felt towards Randy. A relationship with Dean was something Seth realised he wanted._

"_I… I feel the same way. I'd love to be with you, Dean."_

_After those words, Dean gave Seth the most heart-warming smile. His hand cupped Seth's cheek, his eyes asking permission. Seth gave him a small nod, and closed his brown eyes as Dean leant in and gently pressed his lips against Seth's. When Dean pulled away, his smile was even larger than it was before._

"_I'm glad."_

At far too many moments, Seth had believed there were no reasons for him to carry on living. All he saw in his future was further abuse and pain for the rest of his life. But the one decision to leave it all behind, to finally run away from the nightmare he had been living in, made him realise that his life could be so much more than that. He had a future now, and though the past was terrible, it was something which he now knew he could move on from.

He was, at long last, truly happy, and he had Dean Ambrose to thank for that.

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**A/N: **Firstly, thank you so much for all of your reviews on this story. Even with my long updates, you still kept with this story and I appreciate that. I'm so happy so many of you have seemed to enjoy this!

Secondly, I don't know when I will be writing a Wrestling fanfic again. I prefer AUs for this fandom, and I currently don't have any ideas for one at the moment. I may write a oneshot, but I'm not sure yet.

The next multi-chaptered fanfic I'll be posting will actually be a Pokémon one; a fandom I've never written for in the past! Recently, I've been more interested in writing for fandoms I've never written anything for. But, you never know, I might suddenly be hit with another Wrestling idea!

I always list upcoming stories in my profile so feel free to visit it at any point.

Anyway, thank you again for your support and for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed it!


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